It Ends Tonight
by Dracoisalooker76
Summary: Sequel to Invisibility. Calum is the star of the basketball team with everything he would ever want in high school, except Mack Bolton his best friend and longtime crush. Will his friends help him get her or lose her? Troyella.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, here is the first chapter. In my profile I have a picture of the actress I think Mack would look like in this. Of course, it's not exactly like I envisioned, but... The actress is Julie Gonzalo. Tell me what you think and if she fits. I was watching A Cinderella Story. Anyway.**

**Chapter 1**

Elaine Bolton walked through her house to the living room. She had just gotten off the phone with Troy who was in California attending UCLA with Gabriella Montez. She figured that she'd get her book from where she left it and bring it to her room to read. As she approached, she heard the loud noises from the television. She shook her head, no matter how many times she told Mack to keep the volume down when she watched movies she never did.

She looked on the couch to see Mack with her head on Calum's chest. She smiled. They had become the best of friends over the past few years, but she knew that Mack still liked him. The two seniors had dated in eight grade and into ninth, but because of Caleb Harding, Mack was scared of relationships.

Elaine grabbed her book and walked up the stairs, stopping in front of Troy's room. It was the same way he had left it in August, when he and Gabriella had left for California- a mess. She figured she's just close the door when they had company and make him clean it up when he came home for winter break in a few days.

Sighing, she continued on down the hall walking into her room and laying on the bed. Jack was in there and didn't notice her enter. She raised an eyebrow. "Jack, you need to calm down. It's a game."

"It's not just a game," he said, not looking up from the papers he was looking at. "This is the championship game, this is the game that scouts are going to be looking at my boys. This is the game we need to win."

"You are putting too much pressure on these boys," she said, opening her book.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are," she said. "Calum's downstairs."

"Oh, maybe he can help me with this then I-"

"He's asleep," she said, not looking up from her book. When Jack stayed silent she looked up from the book and laughed. "Jack, he's a kid. He doesn't need to help the coach."

Jack sighed. "I know, but he's my best player. He can really see the court Elaine, I mean, it's like he can...see in slow motion or something. He knows what's going to happen I swear."

She ran a hand through her hair and looked at the papers. "Hun, put the papers down. Troy's coming home in a few days. Do you really want to be falling asleep when he's here because you kept working on these forever?"

Jack rolled his eyes and put the papers on the floor. "Happy?"

"Very," she said turning to her book.

Suddenly the two heard a shriek come from downstairs. Jack turned to Elaine and raised his eyebrows. "She's a teenage girl," Elaine said. "She shrieks."

"At random?"

"Yes," Elaine said. "And I doubt it's random. Calum's probably tickling her or something." Jack grunted. "Oh, honestly!"

"I'm just...I don't know. I don't like Mack dating."

"She's not, they're just flirting, whats so wrong with that?"

"Because flirting leads to dating."

Elaine shook her head. "You should be glad it's Calum. We've known him for so long, Jack. That boy wouldn't hurt a hair on her head."

"I know, but I still...what if it had been worse. I mean, I was so scared when Troy carried her in my room that day," he said, referring to the day that Troy had carried Mack into his office after she had been beaten by Caleb. She had been a freshman and Troy a senior.

"She hasn't had a boyfriend in three years. She needs attention and Calum can give it to her." She sighed. "That is, if they ever admit it to each other."

"I'm fine with them being friends."

Elaine slapped Jack with the back of her hand before turning to her book.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"It's the last last day of school before break," Keisha said excitedly as the group walked down the halls of East High. "I think I'm gonna scream-"

"Please don't," Adam said. "My ears are still ringing from the last last of school before thanksgiving break."

Keisha sighed before they walked into their last class of the day- English, with Ms. Darbus. They sat down in their seats, Mack where Troy used to sit and Calum right behind her.

There really isn't much you can do on the last day of school before a break. The kids are all hyper and don't focus, so Ms. Darbus had them do little plays at the front of the room. Adam and Teagan went first, a small portion of the play Aladdin where the title character meets Genie, who was played by Adam.

After a few more group had gone, Ms. Darbus looked to the front of the room. "Mack, Calum how about you go up."

"I'll pick the play," Adam said, jumping from his seat to the table at the front of the room where a bunch of plays were scattered. He grabbed two of the same play and opened to the same page. He gave Mack and Calum each a play and said, "enjoy."

Calum looked at the title and glared at Adam who smiled back. Adam knew the Calum still liked Mack and thought it would be a great idea for them to do the play Romeo and Juliet, but Calum was skeptical. How could Calum play the part of Romeo if Mack didn't like him back? Would she find out that he still liked her and stop being friends with him?

"Well," Mack said, grabbing a chair. "We should make this fun at least. Ms. Darbus, can we use our own names?"

"I don't see why not."

Mack smiled as she stood on the chair and started to speak.

O Calum, Calum! wherefore art thou Calum?  
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;  
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,  
And I'll no longer be a Bolton. 

The two got into it and before long, people were jumping up to play different characters. Soon, Mack and Calum were dead on the ground and the play was over. Ms. Darbus had tears in her eyes when the end of the day announcements went off.

"That was awesome," Adam said, as he, Teagan and Calum walked to their lockers. "I didn't know you could act."

"I can't."

"Are you kidding me," Teagan said. "You couldn't see yourself or Ms. Darbus, she looked like she was going to have a heart attack. You should consider the musical-"

"Okay guys," Calum said, shutting the locker. "Maybe I can act, but I can't sing."

"You're not that bad. I mean, you're no Ryan Evans, but hey," Adam said clapping him on the back. "You're better than me."

"Ugh," Calum said, walking away. Adam and Teagan looked at each other quickly before running down the hall after him. When they reached him the past a group of girls.

"Hi Calum," they said trying to get his attention.

"Hi," he said uninterested.

"He said hi to me," they started saying walking in the other direction. Calum shook his head.

Adam grabbed his arm. "Dude you need a girlfriend. You haven't had one since Mack, that was what...ninth grade? We're seniors, man. You need one."

"Which is a good reason for doing the musical."

"Would you drop it," Calum exclaimed.

"Just think about it-"

"I am and it's a no go."

Adam rolled his eyes. "You didn't let me finish. If you and Mack audition, you'd get the parts. Darbus' musicals have stunk since the gang of all talented singers left. You and Mack could spend some time together and them Mack and Calum will be-"

"Adam, shut up. I'm not doing the musical. I've got my own plan for me and Mack," Calum said, storming out the front door.

"Oops," Adam said.

"Yeah," Teagan said. "His plan is not working though, it's been way too long."

"I agree."

"Should we talk to the girls?"

Adam nodded. "First day back, get Bailey and Keisha to come over my house after school. We'll figure it out then. Anyway, have a good vacation in Florida."

"You too."

"Uh huh, how am I suppose to have a good vacation with five little brothers and sisters?"

"Try your hardest," Teagan said laughing.

**Okay, kind of slow...but okay.**

**Now. I need a name of a high school and their mascot for the championship game. If you have any ideas...let me know.**

**So, tell me what you think!**

**Review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, thanks for the reviews! I appreciate it.**

**All I have to say is if you don't like it, don't read it. Not everyone likes the same thing, and as long as I have my loyal fans I'll post because this is something they like. **

**Chapter 2**

"Troy! Gabriella!"

Troy looked around to see Mack running toward him. He let go of Gabriella's hand and opened his arms up. She jumped into his arms and he hugged her tight. "How are you," he asked.

"I'm good," she said. When she finally let go, Troy took a good look at her.

"You're growing up too fast," he told her. She smiled and turned to Gabriella. The two girls hugged.

"Gabriella, we so need to talk," Mack said.

"Don't worry, I'm here all break."

The three turned and walked to their parents before grabbing Troy and Gabriella's luggage and going home. The first thing Troy did was lay down on the couch. He had never been able to sleep on planes.

But no sooner than he put his head on the pillow did the phone ring. He moaned and picked up the home phone that was directly in front of him. "Hello?"

"Troy, man, how you doing?"

"Chad," he said sitting up. "I'm good. How are you?"

"Good, but I have a problem."

"Does this involve me?"

There was a pause. "Sort of, see I didn't buy any presents yet."

Troy blinked. "None? Chad! Christmas is this week!"

"I know man! That's why you and Cam are going to help me." Troy rolled his eyes. "Don't you roll your eyes at me!"

"Chad...fine. Does Cam know?"

"No." Troy laughed. "You don't think he'll be mad do you?"

"It's hard to tell with Cam," Troy said sarcastically, knowing Cam wouldn't be happy. "Why don't you call him and find out."

"Okay. I call you and tell you when we're going. Bye."

Troy shook his head and hung up the phone. Trust Chad to not buy presents until the week of. He laid his head back down on the pillow and shut his eyes. He was barely asleep when the phone rang. He press the talk button and didn't even say anything before the person on the other line started talking.

"Can you believe him! I mean, seriously! What fool waits until last minute to do his shopping? He may have time to, but I have a life and a girlfriend that I can only see in Albuquerque and now I have to go shopping with...bonehead!"

"Good to hear from you Cam, how's North Carolina?"

"Sorry about that Troy, I'm kind of ticked. But, yeah its great. What about Cali?"

"Good, good. So, when are we shopping with bonehead?"

"Oh, well Chad said he'd pick us up in an hour to give you sometime to rest, but I told him that an hour isn't enough time so he'll be there in five."

"Thanks," Troy said. "You guys know I can't sleep on planes. You're going to be walking with the living dead."

"Awesome. Oh, wait, he's here. See you soon Troy."

"Yeah, bye."

Troy stood up and walked to the door, grabbing his jean jacket, the same one he wore in his junior year when he apologized to Gabriella. He loved it and it still fit him.

The phone rang again and he picked it up. "Hey Zeke. I can't talk, Chad's being a bonehead and he's bringing me shopping."

"He forget again?"

"Yes, so I'll call you later."

"Alright. Have fun."

"Hardly." He heard Chad beep his horn and walked in the kitchen. "I'll be back," he told his parents.

"Where are you going," Jack asked.

"Chad forgot presents. Again."

"Ah," Jack laughed. "See you later."

Troy walked to the door and jumped in Chad's car. He laid down in the back seat and slept until they got to the mall.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Calum and Mack fell down to the ground panting from playing basketball on the court in the Bolton's backyard. It was nine o'clock, but the two didn't care and the neighbors had gotten used to the sound of basketballs hitting the cement.

They looked up at the stars and Mack sighed. "Do you think Mikaela's up there?"

Calum took a deep breath and looked at her. Mikaela had been a hard subject for the group and they rarely talked about her. She had been Mack's non-related twin and was the wisest fourteen year old Calum had ever met.

But, Mikaela had died leaving a hole in each of their hearts. Mikaela had cancer and had succumbed to it. This was the first time in several years that they had said her name out loud.

"Yeah," Calum said. "She has to be."

Mack laid her head on Calum's chest and shut her eyes. Calum held her close and stared up at the sky. "She has to be," he whispered.

"Hey Cal, you want a ride," Cam yelled from the fence. He and Chad had stayed with Troy after they had helped Chad do his shopping. Mack rolled over and Calum stood.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

She nodded. "I'll call you."

"Okay," he said before running to Cam so he didn't have to walk home.

She smiled and walked into the house and sat the kitchen table across from Troy and Chad, who were immersed in their conversation.

Mack thought back to eighth grade and wondered what would have happened if she and Calum had never made amends. Calum would have gone to West High, Cam and Troy wouldn't be friends, Adam and Bailey wouldn't have gotten to know each other as well as they did.

That made her laugh, Adam and Bailey. Out of the group they had hated each other the most and then they started to have feelings for the other. They were also the most successful relationship out of the group, go figure. They had been dating for about three years and were happy together. Adam never flirted with anyone other than Bailey and she didn't look at anyone other than Adam. They were the perfect couple.

Mack wanted that with Calum, but she didn't want to ruin the friendship that she and he had made over the past three years. They were the best of friends and she didn't think her heart could take it if they lost that.

"You never know, maybe it will strengthen it," came a voice from the door. She looked around. Troy and Chad had left and Elaine was standing in the doorway, looking at her daughter.

"How did you?"

"I'm your mother Mack, I know these things. And believe me," she said, grabbing a drink from the refrigerator. "You're ready and Calum was worth the wait."

Even with her mother's advice Mack wasn't sure. Elaine smiled sympathetically. "You'll make the right choice. You always do." Then she walked out of the room, leaving Mack to think about what had been said.

**For the high school names, I can't decide so get your name in and next chapter I'll pick the ones I like and you all can vote on them.**

**A couple people have asked me so I'll say it here, yes (as you can see above) Troy and his gang will be in this story!**

**Tell me what you think!**

**Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay. Thanks for the reviews! I love 'em! Glad you like Julie for Mack, if you haven't checked it out, it's in my profile.**

**Chapter 3**

Mack walked down to her and Calum's place in the park where they were going to watch the New Years fireworks. They always did and this year would be no different. She sat down next to him, remembering what her mother had said earlier in the vacation about Calum.

She decided that she'd move closer to him. He didn't decline, so she leaned on him. There was a breeze and it made her shiver.

"Are you cold," he asked taking off his jacket. She had on her pajamas; a tank top and shorts. He shook his head. "Of course you're cold. Look at what you have on."

Calum slipped the coat on her and hugged her tight. He was happy that she wasn't looking at his face because he was sure there was a dreamy expression on it.

"I'm happy were best friends," he said secretly wanting more.

"Yeah," she said, disappointed. "Me too."

They watched the fireworks and Calum would look at her. 'Should I kiss her,' he thought. 'What if she doesn't like me back?'

'Is he going to kiss me,' Mack thought as she felt Calum's eyes land on her for what seemed like the millionth time that night. 'No, he just said that he's happy that we're best friends.'

"I better get going," Mack said standing up after the fireworks had ended. She went to take off the jacket.

"No, keep it. I'll get it later."

She looked down at the grass and put her arm back in the sleeve. Nodding, she turned around and started walking. Calum ran after her and and grabbed her arm. "Do you need me to walk you home?"

"No," she said. "But if you'd like to walk me home, I could use the company."

He smiled and stood. She jumped on his back so he could give her a piggy back ride. She laid her head on his shoulder and smelled his hair. Well, if he didn't like her like she liked him, she'd just have to admire him from afar.

When he dropped her off at her house, she hugged him. "I'm glad we're best friends too," she whispered in his ear. He frowned for a split second before smiling and looking up at her.

"Good night Mack," he said.

"Good night Calum."

Mack watched him walk down the street before she walked in the house. She heard Troy in the living room, watching something. She walked casually in and sat in the armchair, farthest away from the couch Troy was sitting in.

_I'm happy we're best friends._

Silent tears ran down her face as she thought back to what had just happened. She had ruined any chance she had with Calum, he was forever her best friend.

"Mack," Troy asked looking over. "Are you okay?"

She looked up, tears spilling out of her eyes as if they were faucets. He patted the couch next to him, telling her to come over. She moved from the armchair to the couch before her body started to shake with sobs.

"I lost him Troy. I really did."

He hugged her, trying to get her to calm down, but she kept crying. She climbed into his lap and cried into his chest, making his shirt soaked. "Shh," he said. "You didn't lose anyone. We're all right here."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

On the first day back, Mack and Calum were the center of attention. Adam and Teagan ran over to where Calum and Mack were talking to people.

"Happy New Year," Calum said.

"How about Happy Wildcat New Year," Adam said. "You two are going to rock in these games coming up."

"No autographs, please," Mack joked. The group of kids around her laughed and followed the four inside where they were met by Bailey and Keisha.

"Oh. My. God. Mack, you will never imagine the hottie I saw in Colorado," Keisha said pulling a picture out of her backpack. "I mean, look at him."

"What's his name," Mack asked.

"Luka, short for Lukas, isn't he adorable!"

Calum couldn't help but feel jealous when Mack looked at the picture. 'Hold it Boucher, you're jealous of a picture. A picture who Mack has never met.'

"He's okay," Mack said. Calum smiled, something Bailey and Adam both caught. "His nose is a little big."

Bailey grabbed the picture out of Mack's hand to examine it as Keisha shrugged. "Everyone has one flaw," she said.

"Let's head to homeroom," Keisha said. The group started to follow, when Adam grabbed Bailey.

"Did you see that," he asked.

"Yes I did. I guess you were right on the phone last night."

"Well, what are we going to do about it," Adam asked.

"Um...give me some time to think. I'll probably have a plan by...tomorrow after your game. Is it before or after Mack's?"

"Girls play second game, first for Championships."

She nodded grabbing his hand and running through the hall. "Why are we running," he asked.

"We have one minute before the bell rings and I am not going to be late."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

It was halfway through the second half of the girls game. The boys had won 65-62 after being dead even with the West High Knights for most of the game. It was Calum's buzzer three-pointer that saved them from overtime.

The girls were ahead by ten. Mack and another girl Lena who was the other star (although not as good), had done most of the impressive stuff. The boys basketball teams from both East and West were cheering on their girls. Calum, Adam, Teagan and the rest of the team had quickly painted their faces red and white after their game.

At the moment there was a time out and Calum was looking at Mack. All he could see was the back of her uniform: Bolton with a 5 underneath. She had told him once that the reason that she chose five as her number was because it was one and four added together. Calum hadn't got it at first, until he remembered Troy's number was fourteen.

Soon, the game had begun again, with Mack stealing the inbounds pass and making an easy lay up. The only chance of the Knights coming back to win this would be if Mack got into foul trouble. The only problem with that was Mack played a very clean game, something rarely seen in the world of high school basketball with these two rivals.

It happened quickly. As Mack went up for a lay up, the Knight's center jumped to block the shot, her knee colliding with Mack's. The ball shot up as Mack landed on the floor with a loud crash. The crowd went silent and Mack wasn't moving. The audience froze, remembering what had happened three years earlier to her brother, hoping the outcome was not the same.

Her coach, Jack and the athletic trainer ran out on the court. Calum ran out too. He walked up to her, tears were staining her skin as the athletic trainer touched her knee, poking and prodding it. Calum was almost going to say, 'can't you see it's hurting her,' until he remembered that the trainer was just trying to figure out what was wrong.

He sat down and put her head in his lap, holding her hand as they tried to straighten her leg. "It's pretty swollen Jack," the trainer said. "I can't straighten it. I'd say take her to the hospital for x-rays."

Jack nodded and picked up his daughter, carrying her off the court to the sound of applause. "Daddy, I want to watch the rest of the game," she said, wiping the tears off her face. Jack looked at the clock, there was ten minutes left.

"What do you think Calum," he asked. "Should I let her stay?"

"Please," Mack begged.

"Let her stay, then rush her out when it's over," Calum said.

Jack placed her on the bench with her team and sat down in a chair. Calum sat down next to Mack helping her sit up, even though she really didn't need it. The buzzer sounded and the Wildcats won 59-45. Calum lifted Mack up off the bench and carried her out to Jack's car. He sat in the back with her, telling her she'd be okay all the way to the hospital.

**Oh...poor Mack! And Calum was so kind!**

**So, here are the schools you can choose from for who they play next:**

**Thomas Jefferson Mustangs**

**Blue Mountain Eagles**

**Myers Park Mustangs**

**Florencio Flamingos**

**Cousino Patriots**

**Skyline Spartans**

**Highland Rams**

**Granite Farmers**

**Middleton Bulldogs**

**Prairie High Prairie Dogs**

**These were all thought up by fellow readers so be nice and pick the one you like the best, the one with the most votes will win.**

**Tell me what you think!**

**Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews! I opened my e-mail and found a whole bunch. I'd also like to thank the people who are giving me ideas for what the characters look like. I have Adam in my profile now and soon I hope to put more up, so you can put a name with a face.**

**Chapter 4**

"Okay, here are her x-rays," the doctor said, showing Jack and Elaine. He pointed to an area. "That's her meniscus and as you can see it's torn."

"So, how are you going to fix it," Jack asked.

"I'm afraid this tear will require surgery. There are two ways, both of which she's a candidate for. The first way is a meniscus repair, in which will repair the meniscus and restore the normal anatomy of her knee. This is a significant surgery though and I'm not sure if it will work because of the limited blood supply to the meniscus. But if it does, the long-term prognosis is better."

"What about the other way," Elaine asked.

"Well, the second way is a meniscectomy where we'll remove the damaged part of the meniscus. It's a shorter recovery and a much more common procedure, but she could have trouble down the road because her meniscus is smaller. She could get early knee arthritis."

"Why is this way more common," Jack asked, his eyes focused on the x-rays.

"A lot of the time a tear will be in the avascular region," he pointed to the x-ray, "of the meniscus making it impossible for it to heal even if we fix it. Hers is not."

"Which would you recommend," Elaine asked.

The doctor looked at her x-rays and then back at Elaine. "If it were my daughter, I'd do the meniscectomy. Right now, by looking at her knee, I can't tell if I can repair it so it would be safer to do the meniscectomy."

Jack looked to the doctor. "She'll be under general anesthesia for the surgery right?"

The doctor, a fairly young guy who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, gave him a look that Jack clearly understood as 'how do you know about anesthesia?'

"My son's been on the table a few times," Jack said, chuckling at the expression on the doctor's face.

"Is this her first," the doctor asked. Elaine nodded. "I would do general, but if she wants to be awake, we could give her an epidural."

"Mack wont want to be awake," Elaine said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What about sports," Jack asked. Elaine glared at him, but Mack would want to know. "Like basketball or just walking around."

"It depends on how comfortable she is. I would recommend no basketball for the chance of early knee arthritis would be greater, but if she feels the need she could probably play. She'll be on crutches, just to make it more comfortable until she feels like she can walk again. She should be walking in a week and she can jog about a month after surgery. I want her in rehab and physical therapy though, because of her past with the knee."

They shook his hand. "I'll set up a time for tomorrow and send the surgeon who will be doing it to talk to you when he comes out of another surgery. His name is Dr. O'Neil, a great guy and a great surgeon."

"I think I've heard of him," Jack said.

"He's been working here for a while, so you probably have."

"Thanks for your time," Elaine said as the doctor left. "You should probably go to the waiting room, I bet there's a fan club out there like the time Troy collapsed."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Jack said. He opened the door to hear Adam and Teagan yelling at people to leave. He looked back to Elaine, but she was already heading to Mack's room to inform her of the surgery. Jack stepped out into the waiting room and sat down next to Calum, who had his head in his hands. "You okay," he asked.

Calum looked up. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Yeah, she's going to be fine. She's going in for surgery tomorrow. She has a nasty tear in her knee that their going to fix." He explained the whole procedure to Calum.

"She's not going to like that," Calum said, when Jack told him that she probably shouldn't be playing basketball.

"I know. Why don't you go see her, make her feel better, while I explain to the rest of them." Calum stood and walked to the room Jack told him Mack was in. She happened to be in the furthest bed and he walked by an older lady who was reading a magazine on his way over to her. When Elaine saw Calum, she smiled slightly and walked quietly out of the room.

"Hi," Calum said, sitting in the chair next to Mack's bed.

"Hi," she said.

"How are you feeling," he asked, hoping she wasn't in as much pain as she was at the game. "Does it still hurt?"

She shook her head. "They have me on pain meds," she said.

'Wow, Boucher, you must be the stupidest guy ever to walk the planet! How could they not have her on pain medication, its a hospital!' "I hear you're going into surgery tomorrow."

"I'm scared Calum," she said. He grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze.

"You'll be okay," he said. "You're brave." Then he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Are we interrupting something?"

Mack rolled her eyes. "No, Keish. Must you think that way?"

"Yeah," she said as she, Adam, Bailey and Teagan walked in. Adam elbowed Bailey lightly, and nodded toward the bed, where Calum's hand was holding onto Mack's.

He pulled her to the side. "Do you think their together again," Bailey asked.

"No," Adam said. "Not yet, but I think Calum knows that he needs her. Do you have a plan yet?"

"I do but for it to work, you have to win championships."

"Can do," Adam said.

"Hey Adam, Bailey. I know you guys love each other very much, but Mack's the one who were visiting," Calum said with a smirk.

Adam stuck his tongue out and sat next to Teagan. "Real mature," Teagan said as Adam and Calum started making faces at each other across the bed. The girls were giggling and even Teagan laughed when Adam made fun of Calum and Calum couldn't come up with a comeback.

"I am the king," Adam said, raising his arms in the air triumphantly.

"Calum," Teagan said suddenly noticing something.

"What?"

"You still have red paint on your face." Calum's face dropped and he grabbed a mirror. The other five laughed.

"Maybe that's why everyone was staring at me in the waiting room."

The gang started to laugh and the lady in the other bed pulled the curtain and stuck her head through. "I'm trying to have some peace," she said before shutting the curtain. Adam stuck his tongue out and the six started laughing again.

**Poor Mack has to go in for surgery, but Calum will always be by her side.**

**Keep voting for the team name you liked.**

**Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews and the votes. It was really close, but Blue Mountain Eagles pulled out on top. **

**Chapter 5**

Mack laid in the stiff hospital bed wanting to be in her own, covered by her red and white sheets. The phone rang loudly and she winced, the woman in the bed next to her had just gotten to sleep. She picked it up. "Hello," she said softly.

"Hey Mack, how you feeling."

She smiled. "I'm fine Troy."

"Sorry its so late, I just got back to the dorm. So you having fun in the hospital?"

"A blast," she said sarcastically. Troy laughed on the other side.

"I know what you mean. Who are you sharing a room with?"

"Ms. Darbus' evil twin," she said flatly.

Again he laughed, "I think Ms. Darbus is the evil twin. This lady can't be that bad. You'd rather have her than Ms. Darbus."

"Oh, you haven't met her. I think I'd rather have Ms. Darbus."

"So you're pulling a Troy, not being able to play basketball?"

"I can play, I mean, I wont die if I do. It's just there a chance of arthritis or something. I don't know if I'll be able to sit still as long as they want me to with the championships! They want me resting for a few days and then I can walk on crutches. I want to play Troy!"

"I know," came the reply. "I know you do, but listen to me. Take it easy. You don't want to do more damage to your knee, you're going to need it for the rest of your life. If you hurt it too much there'll be more surgeries and believe me, they're not fun."

She sighed. "Are you scared," he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I don't know what to expect."

"Expect Mom and Dad there for you if you need it. Oh, and Calum will probably wait on you hand and foot." Mack snorted. "I'm serious! That guy will probably come by every day and you, milk it to all it's worth."

She yawned. "Have you gotten any sleep," Troy asked.

"Are you kidding me, I can't think straight. All I see are knives and knees when I shut my eyes."

Troy laughed. "I know, I know. You're going to be worried and scared all night long, but remember nothing will happen. You're in good hands. Dr. O'Neil is a good doctor."

"How do you know?"

"Mack, I know all the doctors in that hospital. Don't question me."

She shook her head. "Well I got to go, I got a class at eight tomorrow that I'm not ready for. I'll talk to you later. Alright, don't be afraid to call. The guys all know where I'll be if I'm not here and if you really need to talk, I'm sure Colby will talk to you."

Colby was one of Troy's roommates, there were four of them. Colby, Troy, Frankie and Gio. Colby was a really goof ball. Frankie played basketball for UCLA, something that both excited Troy and disappointed him. Troy and Frankie would talk about basketball for hours, but being with Frankie also reminded him that he would never play competitively again. Gio was a genius and he and Gabriella got along good. While Troy, Colby and Frankie were just being guys, Gio and Gabriella would do their work.

They hung up and Mack laid her head on the pillow. She wanted to go home, but she couldn't. She got pre-op medication at six and her operation was an hour after at seven.

Dr. O'Neil did seem like a good guy. He was funny and looked like he was around fifty. They were going do arthroscopic surgery to fix her knee. She didn't know what that meant. Dr. O'Neil had told her that they would insert a camera and instruments into her knee joint through tiny incisions in her skin.

The best part of the day was going to be when Calum came after school. Her father was letting him skip the first half of practice so he could see her. She thought it was sweet and a little too nice of her father. When Jack had told her what he was doing she had turned to her mother and said, "this isn't Dad, Dad wouldn't let Calum skip practice before the big game at the end of the week!"

Her parents had laughed and Jack had told her that Troy and the musical had opened his eyes and that there were more important things in life than basketball. Mack thought something had to be wrong and when Dr. O'Neil came to talk, she had told him to check her dad out first because he was being too nice.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"Hey Calum!"

He turned to see most of the basketball team behind him. Adam ran up and threw an arm over his shoulder. "So Captain, what are we doing for free period workout?"

Calum hadn't thought of that. For the most part, he hadn't thought of anything except Mack. "Captain, hello? You in there?"

He shook his head slightly and looked to Adam. "You know, I haven't thought about that."

"So, what have you been thinking about," Teagan said, standing on the other side of Calum.

"Homework," Calum nervously lied. Adam raised an eyebrow and stood in front of him.

"Homework? Are you kidding me?"

"No," Calum said. "Now move." When Adam didn't budge, Calum pushed him over and walked right over him. Adam jumped up and gave him a dirty look.

"What has gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me? You blocked my way!"

"Because you're lying and I know you are! Why don't you just tell her that you like her?"

If looks could kill, Adam would have been dead. The rest of the basketball team stood at a distance, watching the show down between the two friends. "I can't."

"Why, she obviously likes you too!"

"We're just friends," Calum said, leaning against a locker. "She told me so on New Years."

"Of course she said that! She wont tell you how she feels until she's one hundred percent sure that you feel the same way." Adam walked over to Calum and looked him in the eye. "You two are made for each other, can't you see that?"

"Just stay out of it," Calum yelled. He turned around and stormed to his next class. He stopped and turned to them again. "All of you," he shouted before turning and running up the stairs.

"Guys," Adam said. "We're in for a lot more than I thought we were."

"What are we going to do? Will Bailey's plan sill work," Teagan asked.

"I think," Adam said. He looked over his shoulder at the stairs Calum had just disappeared from. "I hope."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Jack walked into Mack's room. The other bed was vacant now, the older woman had been discharged and Mack had a room to herself for now. As he neared Mack's bed, he raised an eyebrow. Calum was sitting in the chair by her bed with his head down. One of his hands held hers and both kids appeared to be asleep. He gently shook Calum. "Calum," he whispered.

Calum moaned and opened his eyes to look at Jack. Upon seeing his coach his eyes widened and he looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh man! I missed practice. Coach, I'm sorry-"

"Calum," Jack interrupted him. He stopped and looked down at his feet. "The guys told me you weren't feeling to good during last period. They said they told you to go home."

He thought back, they guys had never said that. They had said see you later because they knew he was going to see Mack. Then again, Calum had been a little out of it during Ms. Darbus' class last period English. "Yeah," Calum said, going along with what Coach Bolton said.

"Why don't you go home and get some rest before you get still laying like that."

Calum sat up and stretched a little before leaving. He mentally kicked himself. The rest of the week's practices were really important if they were going to win their game against the Blue Mountain Eagles on Friday. It was Tuesday and he couldn't believe he missed practice, especially when he had told Coach Bolton that he'd be back halfway through. Coach Bolton wasn't known for being the nicest coach, sure he was a great guy but he was a really strict coach and when he had told Calum that he could miss to see Mack...that was a once in a lifetime thing.

When he was outside the hospital, he took out his cellphone and dialed.

"What?"

"Nice way to answer your phone," Calum laughed.

"Sorry, thought you were Bridget. She just called four times," Adam said, referring to his little sister who was twelve.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what," Adam said. From the tone of his voice, you could tell he was trying to do two things at once.

"Why did you make an excuse. I was horrible to you today."

"That's what friends are for," Adam said. "So, why didn't you come back?"

"I fell asleep."

Adam laughed on the other line. "How did you fall asleep? Was Mack really that boring?"

"She was asleep too," Calum said. He smiled remembering how cute she looked when she was asleep. "Adam," he said.

"Yeah."

He took a deep breath. "Promise you won't say I told you so-"

"I knew it! I knew it! You so like Mack and you got it bad! Now, I have the perfect plan to get you two together, well actually...it's Bailey's plan, but it's really good. Now. . . ."

**So...what is this big plan?**

**Tell me what you think!**

**Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews!  
**

**Chapter 6**

If there was something that Mack hated, it was crutches. Although she preferred them to wheelchairs, she despised the objects that were helping her walk. They made her feel like a weakling. They also brought on sympathetic stares that she had hated for as long as she could remember.

She trudged through the front door toward her father's car, determined to go to school no matter what her mother said.

It wasn't that she liked school. It wasn't that she wanted the attention that her crutches would bring. She wanted to show that she wasn't going to let a surgery keep her away from things such as school. She wanted to show the students that she was strong. She wanted to show the teachers that she wasn't Troy.

Troy, the sweet, lovable jock, but also one of the worst things in her life. Sure she loved him, but she hated being his sister. She hated being compared to him and now, more than ever, she was being compared to Troy. They both played basketball, they looked the same, they liked the same music, talked the same way, ate the same food. Now she just added one more thing to the ever growing list.

Falling to the ground during a basketball game and missing the final high school game because of some stupid ailment.

Calum had visited her everyday. He held her hand, kissed her cheek, gave her comforting words. Like Troy had said, the boy had done anything she asked plus more.

"Are you sure you want to go to school today Princess," Jack asked as he sat in the driver's seat. She just nodded, climbing into the front seat. "If you need me-"

"Dad," she interrupted. "I'll be fine. I probably won't even be walking." She laughed. "Calum will probably carry me from class to class."

Her father rolled his eyes. "Do you have practice today," Mack asked.

"The game's tomorrow, how could I not have practice?"

"I don't know."

Jack pulled up to the school and stopped the car. "How much longer do I have to walk with the crutches," Mack whined.

"You're mom wants one more day," Jack said. He had seen her walking earlier that morning without them, so he knew she was ready. She wasn't walking perfectly, but she could manage enough steps to get from the couch to the refrigerator back to the couch. But, Elaine always wanted one more 'insurance' day to make sure that she was ready.

"Can't I just hide the crutches?"

"No," Jack said. "Have a good day."

Mack groaned and started to slowly make her way to the school. There was no doubt in her mind that Calum and the rest of her friends were already there. She turned, her father had disappeared. As casually as she could she dropped the crutches and picked them up so she could carry them.

She put some weight on her leg. Sure it hurt a little, but not much. She stood up tall and slowly walked toward the lobby. She was almost there when she felt muscular arms pick her up.

"What are you doing off your crutches," Calum said.

"I don't need them. I swear I'm fine."

"Then why do you have them?"

"Because my mom wanted me to! Ugh, I hate crutches!" She threw them to the ground and placed her head on Calum's shoulder.

"I know," he said. "How about I carry you instead."

She nodded and he smiled. Adam came up behind them and grabbed her crutches winking at Calum, who shook his head.

Calum carried her to homeroom and set her down in her chair before sitting in his own chair smiling. They had every class together and he loved carrying her around because she was so close to him. What he didn't know was that she liked it too.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Calum finished running his laps before everyone else at practice, Adam finishing shortly after he did.

"So about this plan of yours-"

"Cal, you're not thinking about not going through with it are you?"

"No," Calum said. "I was just thinking. What if the Eagles beat us?"

Adam burst into laughter. Calum looked confused. "What?"

Still chuckling Adam said, "with a captain like you? Are you kidding me, we have the best starting five since the 2006 championship team with Troy, Chad, Zeke and Jason. You're the Troy of the team. I'm very confident in you to uphold your duty and lead us to victory. Anyway how could we lose? I've never heard of the Eagles."

"I have," said Eddie, one of the forwards. "My brother played them once. If they're anything like they were when he played, they're big and scary."

"Well my cousin goes there and her boyfriend is on the team," said Carlos, the center. "He's a nerd."

"What is he then, the water boy?"

Adam laughed. "Dude, we'll be fine. And if we lose, Bailey has a back up plan. You don't need to worry, Mack will be yours again soon enough."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Mack was walking down the hall with her crutches under her arms, just in case someone walked by. The halls were empty for the most part since it was three thirty. She was stopped by Mr. Matsui in the hallway asking her how her knee was. She smiled and answered politely before she crutched into the gym to watch the end of the boys practice.

They were playing three on three and Calum, Adam and Teagan seemed to be ruling the court. At the moment they were playing keep away from the other team by staying in one spot and passing from the spot, not really paying attention. Calum heard her crutches hitting the court and turned around. She waved and he smiled.

"Calum!"

He turned back to the game just in time to get the ball in the face.

"Ow!"

Adam rushed over. "Dude, I'm so sorry. I thought you were paying attention!" Calum held his hand to his face as Jack rushed over. He gently moved Calum's hand away from his face and felt his nose.

"Just a little bruised. Eddie, go get me some ice!" When Eddie returned, Jack placed the ice on Calum's face. "With any luck, this won't swell too much."

"Will he be able to play," Adam asked, his gut churning. If Calum couldn't play, it would be all his fault.

"I think so. It will be bruised, but I don't think it's broken."

"Adam, you didn't throw it hard enough," Mack joked, walking over to them. She left her crutches on the bleachers so she could grab the first aid kit on her way over.

"Alright Calum, just keep the ice on it and take some of these," Jack said pulling out some medicine. "It will stop the hurt and the swelling. Just don't be surprised tomorrow if your nose is purple."

"Hey Calum, want some cover up," Teagan joked. "I'm sure Mack will let you borrow some."

Both Mack and Calum blushed, although you couldn't really see Calum's from under the ice.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Adam, Teagan, Bailey and Keisha were talking outside the school. Today was the big championship game and they were all excited, for the game and what hopefully would happen after.

"Purple was an understatement!"

Adam and Teagan's eyes widened, knowing the voice belonged to the one and only Calum Boucher. Giving each other a look, they turned. Calum was standing behind him his nose and an eye were dark purple.

"I can't believe you!"

"How did your eye get purple," Adam asked.

"I don't know! I looked in the mirror this morning and this is what I saw!" Calum leaned up against a tree. "I can't do our plan tonight. Look at my eye!"

"Look at your eye," Adam said in disbelief. "Look at your nose! Are you sure you put ice on that?"

"Positive."

Teagan walked up to Calum. "The reason why your eye is like that because the ball hit in this area." He pointed to one side of Calum's face. "That's why your nose didn't break because it didn't hit your nose with all its force."

"Thanks Dr. Teagan for explaining that to me, now explain to Adam how I'm going to bury him alive!"

"Look," Adam said. "We'll figure out a way to...fix this...plus, Mack won't care what you look like."

"By the way," Keisha said. "Here she comes now."

"Calum!"

Calum's eyes jerked open and he was breathing heavily. He patted beside him and noticed that it was his bed. He sighed with relief. Remembering his dream, he jumped out of bed and into the bathroom so he could look in the mirror. His nose was a little swollen and a shade darker than the rest of his face.

"It was just a dream," he said. "Just a dream. Calm down Calum, it was just a dream."

He walked back into his room and got dressed in the red suit they wore on game days; the red zip-up windbreaker with a wildcat on the back and the red matching pants. He looked in the mirror and shook his hair, which was still wet from the shower he had taken the night before.

He jogged down the stairs and grabbed an apple and a muffin. Calum always brought a muffin for Adam on game days, ever since middle school. The muffin gave him an energy boost that he really didn't need, but it was their good luck charm.

A horn honked outside and Calum looked up at the clock. He ran through the door and jumped into Adam's car passing him the muffin and taking a bite out of the apple.

"How's your nose?"

"A little swollen, but I think it's fine."

"Good," Adam said. "We're going to need you today."

**Sorry if that part was a little confusing, Calum was dreaming about his face looking absolutely horrible. My brother did that once, the day before senior pictures were taken.**

**Tell me what you think!**

**Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey. I would like to thank HauntedWhisper714, HorseLover20693, WildcatSuperstar14and Mocha Addict for their reviews on Chapter 6. **

**Anyway, for this chapter this is IMPORTANT. I talk about Class A and Class B for basketball. Those are like leagues that the schools play in. It says that Blue Mountain played in Class B last year. That means that Blue Mountain was a smaller school that got larger and their team got better, so they got to move up to Class A, which has the biggest schools in the state and the best teams. Thanks for reading, but you would be completely lost if you didn't know what Class A and B meant.**

**Anyway, enough about that!**

**Chapter 7**

"We're going to lose," Coach Bolton said seriously at halftime. "Don't get me wrong, we're going to lose." He looked into the faces of his players. "This going to be the worst score in East High history...but it was worth it."

"How," Eddie asked.

"We were a team," Calum said, standing. "Win as a team, lose as a team, teammates. You know what guys, it doesn't matter that we lose tonight. And do you know why?"

The boys shook their heads. "Because those stands are packed with people cheering for us."

"But we're getting beat by a new team."

"So! So what if the Blue Mountain Eagles haven't played in Class A basketball before. So what that East High was always the Class A winners. We are a team, a family. I've never been a part of something like this until I was on this team."

"Calum's right, these guys deserve the title," Adam said standing next to Calum. "If they can shut down my man Calum here, they deserve it. But we don't need it, because you know what, we have something better. We know we're a good team, we don't need a dumb title to tell us that."

"We're winners at heart," Calum said. "These guys were the best in Class B."

"They've never been out scored in the second half," Eddie said.

"If we outscore them, than we beat them at that and we have a prize," Adam said. "How about it?"

The team cheered. "Boys," Coach Bolton said, bringing out a box. "I think, if we're going to win this challenge, we need the lucky championship uniforms." He opened the box to show the uniforms that hadn't been worn for three seasons. The uniform design had been changed the season after Troy's jersey had been retired. "They may not have your names on the back, but they are lucky."

"I say lets do it," Adam said. "Wildcats, lets go eat the Eagles!"

"Eww," Calum said. "Adam, the Eagle is on the endangered species list."

"Oh well."

They team put on their new jerseys. Calum was passing them out while Coach Bolton went to do something. "Eddie!"

Eddie walked up to Calum. "Take care of my brother's jersey, alright?"

"Don't you want to wear it?"

"You wear it. I trust you."

Eddie thanked Calum and went to change with the rest of the guys. Once Calum had passed out all the jerseys, Coach Bolton returned. "You may have noticed," he address the team. "We're one short in that box." The team looked around. Coach Bolton walked to Calum and took a jersey from behind his back, placing it in Calum's hand. "This one's collected a bit of dust, but I think it wants to be in one more game before it has to watch them forever."

Calum took a deep breath before he turned the jersey over. The entire team was watching him. "It's Troy's jersey," he told the team.

Jack placed a hand on Calum's shoulder. "Make me proud Calum."

"I'll try," he said.

Bailey, Mack and Keisha were seated in the stands. Watching them shoot, Bailey was the first to notice the uniform switch. "Mack! Calum's wearing Troy's jersey! That's why your dad was taking it down!"

Before long, the game had started and the score was 15-58. They game was interesting. It seemed that with the uniform switch, the boys had new energy. Unlike the first half, Jack had changed his strategy and Calum had barely touched the ball. The Eagles were starting to not guard him and double team Adam who was the boy always with the ball.

With five minutes left, Jack called a time out. "Okay, they fell for it. Now, Adam start passing to Calum. At all costs, get the ball to Calum."

Even with the score still lopsided, the East High crowd was on the edge of the bleachers they were sitting on. It was as if the Wildcats were behind by five points instead of forty-three. But the Wildcats had made it fun for them to watch.

There was no heroic shot at the buzzer. The Eagles were confused by the Wildcat's strategy, but kept scoring. At the end of the game, the Wildcats and the Eagles were cheering. The Eagles because they won, the Wildcats because they outscored them in the second half 31-29.

Adam and Calum lifted up the runners-up trophy with pride. "This," Jack said after the game. "Is my favorite trophy."

"Hey! I think we need to celebrate," Adam said. "What do you say?"

The team cheered and ran out of the gym to the auditorium. The girls team followed. They sat in there, just talking and passing the time, until Keisha and Bailey walked in. Calum and Mack, who were too immersed in their conversation with each other, were the only two that didn't realize what the girls were holding was a karaoke machine.

"Does Mack know," Adam asked Bailey as she set it up on the stage.

"No, but Teagan says Calum knows," she said annoyance in her voice.

"Nope, I told him a false plan. He has no clue."

"You're brilliant," she said forgivingly.

"But, Keisha said Mack can't sing."

Bailey laughed. "Keisha's just jealous. How could Mack not have a pretty voice, she's Troy's sister and have you heard him sing?"

"Yeah."

"Then you know he's good."

"Yeah, he is."

"Adam, do you think this will work?"

He looked at Mack and Calum before saying, "it will at least point them in the right direction."

She sighed and looked out at the crowd. "Should we get this started?"

"I believe we should." The two walked out onto center stage. This event had been planned for a while by both the boys team and the girls team. Now, Adam was getting nervous. What if it didn't work?

"Hey, how are you wildcats doing tonight?" There were cheers and Mack and Calum had decided to pay attention to Adam. "Well, we have a very special machine up here, so why don't we use it? Who should be our victims?"

The boys shouted Calum and he sent a look at Adam that clearly said, 'pick me and I'll hurt you.' The girls grabbed Mack and pushed her up there. Teagan and Eddie tried to do that with Calum, but it was proving to be hard. Calum really didn't want to go up there.

"I can't sing," he whined.

"Too bad," Teagan said with a smile on his face.

When Calum passed Adam, the blond boy smirked. "Good luck!" Calum's eyes widened, knowing that Adam meant for this to be the plan. He walked the rest of the way to the microphone. Mack didn't look happy either.

"I can't sing," she said.

"Me either," he told her as the music started. Mack looked at the words and started to sing.

"We were strangers,

starting out on a journey Never dreaming what we'd have to go through Now here we are, and I'm suddenly standing, 

at the beginning with you."

'Wow, her voice is just as beautiful as she is,' Calum thought. Then he turned to the machine himself and sang the words.

"No one told me

I was going to find you, Unexpected 

what you did to my heart."

At this point they both sang the same thing.

"When I lost hope

you were there to remind me 

this is the start...

"And life is a road

and I wanna to keep going love is a river I wanna keep flowing life is a road now and forever wonderful journey. "I'll be there when the world stops turning I'll be there when the storm is through in the end I wanna be standing 

at the beginning with you."

There was a small musical part before the words appeared again and Mack started to sing.

"We were strangers

on a crazy adventure."

Calum had the next line of the song. He smirk and grabbed the microphone off the stand.

"Never dreaming

how our dreams would come true."

Mack smiled and did the same thing as they sang again.

"Now here we stand unafraid of the future

At the beginning with you.

"And life is a road

and I wanna to keep going love is a river I wanna keep flowing life is a road now and forever wonderful journey. "I'll be there when the world stops turning I'll be there when the storm is through in the end I wanna be standing 

at the beginning with you.

"I knew there was somebody somewhere

that made love in the dark Now I know my dream will live on I've been waiting so long Nothings gonna tear us apart. 

"Life is a road and I wanna keep going."

"Love is a river I wanna keep going on," Calum sang by himself.

"Starting out on a journey," Mack sang to the audience before they turned to each other to sing the final verse of the song.

"Life is a road and I wanna keep going

Love is a river I wanna keep flowing In the end I wanna be standing 

at the beginning with you."

As the audience clapped, Mack and Calum put their microphones back on the stands. Calum grabbed her hand and led her out of the room. Bailey and Keisha shared a look.

"How did you know to do this," Adam asked after he kissed Bailey's cheek.

"Let's just say a little birdy told me." She smiled and walked to the back of the room. She took out her cellphone, dialed a number and waited for an answer.

"Hi is Troy there...tell him it's Bailey...hey Troy, it worked."

**So, how did you like that? The song was 'At The Beginning' from Anastasia, the Disney movie. **

**Anyway, tell me what you think about this story, I love to hear what you have to say- good or bad!**

**Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews! I think a lot of you will like this chapter! Well, at least I hope!**

**Chapter 8**

Calum stopped running when they were in the hall outside of the auditorium. He sat on the ground and pulled her into his lap. She looked up into his eyes and got lost in the deep pools of brown. He gazed into her blue eyes and caressed her cheek.

She leaned up and kissed him. It was a quick kiss, but it was enough to remind both of them of eighth grade and how happy they were. Mack buried her head in his chest and he smiled down at her.

"I've been waiting," he said.

"I know now," she said into his chest. "I didn't think you still liked me."

"I don't," he said seriously. She looked up confused. "I love you."

"Really," she asked.

"Yes. In kindergarten, I knew I liked you. It wasn't until third grade that I knew I loved you, but I know now. Ever since I laid eyes on you."

Mack laid against him and he wrapped his arms around her. She felt like she fit into him, like the final pieces of a puzzle. "Calum," she whispered.

"What?"

"I love you too."

"Does that mean we're together again?"

"I don't know," she said slyly. "I haven't been officially asked."

"Mackenzie Bolton, will you do me the greatest honor in the world and be my girlfriend?"

She giggled. "You didn't have to make it sound like a proposal. But that was cute and yes, I'd love to."

He placed his chin on the top of her head and smiled. They just sat there, silently taking in what happened. Before long, Calum knew she had fallen asleep so he shut his eyes.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Calum moaned at the annoying sound of the telephone. It had rung at least eight times and the person was now trying to call for the ninth time in a row. He opened his eyes and slowly grabbed the phone off the floor. "Hello," he said groggily.

"Good morning sleepy head," came the cheery reply.

"This better be good," he groaned. He had never been so tired in his life. After he and Mack had been awaken by Coach Bolton, he had walked her home and once he got home himself he couldn't stop thinking about her. He must have fallen asleep around three o'clock in the morning, when he had arrived home at ten.

"Rumor has it that you and Miss Bolton are officially a couple again," came Cam's voice.

"Don't you have a class to be at? How do you know anyway?"

"Found out from Troy, he called me earlier this morning. And, no I only have one class today and I went to it already. It's twelve in Albuquerque, what are you still doing at home?"

"Depends, why did you call so many times?"

"This is the first time I tried, seems like you have a fan club," Cam laughed.

"Funny for you. I was trying to sleep."

"Shouldn't you be out with your girlfriend?"

Calum didn't talk for a minute. "Did you call to give me advice on my life?"

"You're love life maybe, or your lack of one. Mack is the first girl, since...oh Mack, that you went out with."

"I was waiting for her!"

"Likely story," Cam said. "Well, I just wanted to talk, seems as I heard this amazing news. Oh, how'd you do yesterday?"

"Didn't Troy tell you that too?"

"No, he didn't know. All he knew was what his mom told him, which was basically about you and Mack. I'm supposed to tell him this information. So, how was the championships?"

"We lost to the Blue Mountain Eagles."

"Who?"

"Class B turned Class A team."

"Oh, poor baby...did Adam cry?"

Calum laughed. "No, we actually had fun. We got to wear the old uniforms from your senior year. Coach Bolton had me wear Troy's. Eddie wore yours."

"Not bad. So, I gotta go, but take this advice. Get out of the house! You don't need to sleep anymore. Do something with Mack! It's the weekend. Okay? Bye."

Calum rolled his eyes as he heard Cam hang up. He pressed the button. "You're such a loser," he said to the phone as he dropped it to the floor and put his head back to his pillow. No sooner than his head hit the pillow, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey! I saw you and Mack last night."

"Adam, I'm trying to sleep!"

"Oh. Well, what are you doing today?"

"Probably hanging out with Mack-"

"Bingo! We're all going to the movies tonight. Some horror movie, Keisha picked it out. Anyway, I just thought I'd call and tell you."

"Am I suppose to invite Mack, or did you already?"

"We called her, but she was still asleep. So, you can call her."

"Goodbye Adam."

"But, don't call her soon. We just did."

"Bye Adam."

"Oh, and I think-"

"Adam! I don't care!"

Calum heard laughing on the other end. "Dude, I'll see you later. Get some sleep, you're really grumpy. Movie starts at seven. Bye."

Calum didn't even say goodbye, he just hung up the phone. He dropped it on the ground and laid his head on the pillow. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments before his eyes closed.

And then the phone rang.

"Hello," he said, using every bit of energy he had to fight off the feeling of throwing the phone at the wall.

"So, did Adam call you already?"

"He told you to call me didn't he," Calum said annoyed. "Teagan, I'm sorry, but I'm in a really bad mood."

"Oh, are you tired?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll let you go. Bye."

Calum hung up the phone and glared at it. "Ring one more time. I dare you."

And as if to spite him, it rang. He pressed the talk button. "What!"

"Calum Boucher! Is that anyway to pick up the phone!"

Calum laid back in bed, the phone held up against his ear. "Hi Mom."

"Are you still in bed?"

"No," Calum lied. He really didn't want to tell his mother that he was still in bed. She was not the kind of person who liked their children lazying around in bed.

"Oh, are you just about to go out?"

"Yeah," Calum said, wanting to get off the phone. "I was just about to go out the door."

"Oh, okay sweetie. I just wanted to see how you were. You're brother called before I left for work. He told me-"

"Let me guess," Calum said, rolling out of bed. "He told you about me and Mack."

"No, he told me you'd probably still be asleep. But, what about you and Mack?"

He looked in his mirror and mouthed the words, 'the world's against me.' He sighed. "She's my girlfriend again."

"Oh, sweetie, that's great. Well, I got to get back to work, leave me a note on the table when you leave. Love you."

"Yeah, love you too," he said unenthusiastically. "Bye."

He took a quick shower before running down the stairs and making a sandwich. After he had taken a bite, he picked up the phone and dialed seven numbers.

"Hello?"

"Hi Mrs. Bolton," he said. "Is Mack up yet?"

"Yes she is Calum, hold on." There was a slight pause before Mack started talking. "Hi!"

"Hey, I guess we're going to a movie. Adam told me Keisha picked out a horror film."

"Oh, cool," Mack said. Calum laughed because she sounded uninterested.

"My thoughts exactly."

"How about we ditch," Mack said. "I really don't want to go. Last time we went to a scary movie, I screamed and they made fun of me for a month."

"We'll find a movie that starts at the same time. So what are you doing today?"

"Well...I was hoping to do something with the best boyfriend in the world, but seems as he hasn't asked me yet," she joked. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I'll figure something out. How about I meet you at your house in say...five minutes."

"Deal."

"Okay, cool. See you soon."

"Bye."

Calum hung up the phone and left a note for his mother on the counter. He locked the door and walked the block to Mack's house, trying to figure out what to do on a bright sunny day.

**So...what do you think?**

**Lots of phone converstations huh? **

**Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Chapter 9**

"Can we go on the swings," Mack asked as she led Calum to the playground. Without waiting for an answer, she ran to the swing set and sat on one of the seats. "Push me high!"

He smiled and walked over to her. After he had her going high enough, he sat in the swing beside her and stared at everyone on the playground. There were parents sitting on the bench watching their children, parents play with their children. He sighed. He never really had that relationship with his parents, especially his father.

He shuddered at the word father. He looked at a father, sitting on the seesaw with his kids. Calum shut his eyes, Daniel had never done that for either of his kids, let alone take them to the park. Cam had been the one to take Calum, to watch him carefully, to make sure he didn't fall. Then, his father changed Cam, turned him into a miniature Daniel.

"Calum?"

He opened his eyes and noticed Mack had stopped swinging. Her blue eyes searched him, trying to find answers. Sighing, he turned to look at her. "What's wrong," she asked.

"Promise me that when we're older, I won't be like my dad."

Mack nodded. Suddenly she felt guilty for having a loving family when Calum didn't. "You can't be like your dad," she said. "You have a heart."

Calum leaned against the chains of the swing. "Sometimes I can still feel it," he told her, staring off into space. "The pain from the wounds. Sometimes, I wake up, thinking that he's hitting me but it was just my mind playing a cruel joke on me."

Mack stood and walked over to him. Grabbing onto his hand, she pulled him to a tree and sat him down. Looking at him remember, made her want to cry. "You can talk to me."

"Everytime he'd beat me, I'd just hope for a tomorrow. The last time, in eighth grade, I didn't think there was going to be." Tears were starting to roll down his face. "He always made me feel like it was my fault."

Mack enveloped him in her arms and let him cry. "It wasn't your fault," she whispered. "Your dad had a problem."

She looked down at Calum. He was so brave and strong. She had never seen him cry and seeing him like this made her eyes sting with tears. "You're loved," she whispered into his ear. "I love you. Adam and Teagan are like brothers to you. We all care for you."

When his tears had stopped, he let go and sat against the tree. "Sorry about that. I'm romantic, huh," he said sarcastically. "I'm such a loser."

"Hey," she said, moving over to sit in his lap. "Don't call my boyfriend a loser!"

Calum smiled. "I love you."

"I know," she said. "I love you too." She laid her head on his chest and just laid there, enjoying every moment she had with him.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Calum and Mack walked through the halls of the school on Monday hand in hand. Many girls were gossiping and spreading rumors.

"Did you see, they're holding hands."

"Do you think they're dating?"

"She is so lucky!"

"He's only dating her because she's a Bolton."

"I hear their brothers are good friends."

"They hated each other in elementary school!"

The two tried their best to ignore the constant stares that were associated with being Mack Bolton and Calum Boucher, but now they were worse than before. Now they weren't Mack and Calum, best friends and captains of the basketball teams, they were more.

"Bolton! Boucher! Just the students I was looking for!" They heard when they passed Ms. Darbus' classroom on their way to lunch.

"I was wondering if you had given the musical a thought? I heard you singing after the game on Friday and I must say you possess some talent."

"Haven't auditions already happened," Calum said.

"Oh yes, but I have yet to cast the main characters."

"We haven't thought about it-" Mack started, but before she finished she was interrupted.

"You will think about it. I was wondering if you could audition during free period today?" Not giving them a chance to answer, Ms. Darbus started talking again. "Excellent. I'll meet you in there."

The two stood stone still as they heard Ms. Darbus yell as she walked down the hall. Mack turned to Calum wide eyed. "What just happened?"

"We signed up for the musical," Calum said, fake happiness taking over his voice.

"It's not that bad Calum," Mack said as Calum stormed off toward the cafeteria. He threw his hands in the air as they entered. Hundreds of eyes fell on them.

"Not that bad? How can you say that Mack!"

"Do you have stage fright or something? You seemed perfectly fine singing in front of the basketball team! What's the difference?"

He walked over to her. "I'm not prancing around some stage in leotards."

"Who said anything about leotards? I don't remember anyone saying anything about leotards!"

Calum grabbed her hands in his own and looked at her. "Mack, I can't..."

"Why?"

"It's just...it's not what I do."

Her eyes narrowed. "You sound exactly like my brother was when the school was all about cliques. Why did I ever think that would change? A basketball player will always be a basketball player. Got to stick to status quo Calum? Why don't you go sit with your fan club, I'm sure they'd love to sit with you." Pulling her hands from his grasp, she ran from the room.

"Mack," he called after her. He groaned before running after her tiny form. He followed the sound of her shoes through hallways and up stairs. Finally, when there was no where else she could go, he found her sitting on the roof. "I didn't mean for it to sound like that."

"Well it did." She had yet to look at his face. "Didn't you have fun when we sang together?"

"I had a blast, but a musical Mack...I can't."

She turned to look at his face, read his expression. "You have stage fright don't you?" He looked away ashamed. "Calum, you play basketball in front of a huge crowd. I don't see the difference."

"Mack, when you play basketball, you don't see their faces, you're focused on the game. In a musical, every line is directed to the audience. I'd be afraid I'd screw up or something."

"You seemed so comfortable in front of the class when we did Romeo and Juliet."

"That was different. We were using our own names, we had a script right in front of us and I felt like Romeo. We were just fooling around! I know it's stupid, but...I can't."

"I can help you," Mack said, her eyes pleading. "We can help you get used to audiences looking at you."

Calum sighed. "I guess we're seeing Ms. Darbus during free period."

She smiled and hugged him. "It won't be bad and if you have to wear leotards, we don't have to do it."

They laughed at Mack's sentence. He lifted her up and carried her into the cafeteria, despite her protests. All the eyes were on them again and Mack could feel her cheeks heating up. "Calum please put me down!"

"Nope. You want me to get used to eyes on me and me looking at them."

"You're using my words against me!"

Smiling, Calum carried her the rest of the way to the table they sat at with Adam, Bailey, Keisha and Teagan. When they reached it, Calum placed her next to his seat and sat down.

**So...how's you like it?**

**Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So, thanks for reviewing!**

**Chapter 10**

"What was that all about," Adam asked, pulling Calum off to the side.

"What," Calum said, knowing what Adam was getting at.

"The fact that you and Mack just made a complete scene!"

"It was nothing. It was normal."

Adam snorted. "If that was normal, I'm the marrying Prince Harry over in Europe. Can't you tell me? I'm your best friend. You can tell me stuff you know."

Calum sighed. "Look, Darbus stopped us in the hall and wants us to audition for the play."

"And thats bad?"

"Very."

"I don't see what's so bad about doing the musical. It might actually be good this year if you're in it." Calum groaned. "Man, what's your problem?"

"The problem is that...I have to audition today-"

"And."

"Let me finish!" He bent down to hide his face from anyone but Adam. "I have major stage fright." Adam looked at him for a minute before starting to laugh. "It's not funny!"

"Yes it is. The wildcat superstar is scared of people watching him sing," Adam teased.

"Not scared...mortified."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Well, you're only auditioning in front of Ms. Darbus right?" Calum nodded. "Well, if you get casted for the part, you have a while to learn how to sing in public. I can help you there."

"Really?"

"Really, these people will tell you if you stink or if you're great and they won't lie. So, part of your stage fright will be gone because you know you're good."

"What about seeing people."

"Practice makes perfect."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"Bolton, Boucher, you showed up! Excellent. Now take your place on the stage while I get some music."

Calum and Mack made their way to the stage and sat down in two chairs. They noticed a small girl sitting at the piano. She looked nervous. "Hi," Mack said.

"Hi," the girl said shyly. She looked at the two for a moment before turning back to the music on the piano. She had shoulder length blond hair and big brown eyes.

"What's your name," Calum asked.

The girl, who was obviously uncomfortable in their presence, answered softly in a sweet sounding voice. "Cassara."

"That's really pretty," Calum said politely. "Do you play the piano well?"

"I guess," she said quietly. "My brother said I was good."

"Who is your brother," Mack asked interested. She figured that she'd know him.

"Ryan."

"Ryan Evans," Calum asked. "And Sharpay's your sister?" The girl nodded slightly and turned back to the music on the piano. "How old are you?"

"I'm a freshman. I'm supposed to be in the eighth grade, but I skipped fifth."

"Wow, it's a pleasure to meet you," Mack said. "You're shy. I figured with Ryan and Sharpay as your siblings you'd be..."

"Loud like them?" She shook her head slightly and smiled at Mack. "It's easy to get lost in my house when their fighting. I guess I just never got over my shyness when they left for college."

Mack and Calum smiled at her before the doors to the auditorium slammed open, giving her a grand entrance. "Found the music. You may read off the paper." She handed Mack and Calum two small packets of sheet music. "Since I haven't been sent me this year's play, you'll have to make do with different music. Cassara already knows it, so all you two need to do is look it over."

Mack looked at hers and smiled. "Calum do you know what this is," she whispered excitedly.

"Yeah," he said. "This is music from Twinkle Towne." Calum remembered when he and Mack had gone to opening night to watch Troy and Gabriella be Arnold and Minnie. He sighed to himself, knowing Ms. Darbus expected him to be as good as Troy and Ryan when they auditioned, but deep inside him, he knew he wasn't.

He looked over the music, knowing that he had to try his best when he noticed something. On the top right hand corner, someone had written on the paper. It read: _Don't worry, you're the star of the basketball team. What can go wrong? _

His eyes widened as he searched for more writing. On the second page he found a different handwriting. _Dude, you'll rock. You always do _was written in a larger, more bold. On the back page of the packet there was one last little note written underneath the ending of the song. _Man, you are going to blow the roof off this place. Don't worry, leave all the other stuff to me. Good Luck Troy!_

So this was Troy's music. He smiled, and a wave of relief hit him. If Troy had used this packet to learn the music, then he could too. Turning to Mack, he saw her grinning and knew she had Gabriella's.

"You ready," Calum asked.

"Are you?"

He nodded, "I have a little encouragement written on mine." He showed Mack the writing and she quickly identified the first note as Zeke's handwriting, Jason's handwriting being the second and Chad's as the note on the last page.

"Ready," Cassara asked quietly. The two nodded and she started to play the familiar beat of Breaking Free.

After the first few bars, Ms. Darbus knew she had her main characters. Her vision was flooded with memories of Kelsi playing piano, of Troy and Gabriella singing and dancing. She had loved Twinkle Towne the most out of any of her plays and now when she tried to use others, she they just didn't come out right.

She had had Kelsi make another play, telling her of the great performance Mack and Calum had made her class off the play Romeo and Juliet and he hopes to gain them as her leads. Kelsi hadn't at all been surprised when Ms. Darbus called her, wanting her to make a play. Ms. Darbus had explained her case and Kelsi was delighted. Of course, Ms. Darbus had already had auditions for another play, in this giving Kelsi a restraint on characters she could choose to make.

But, this one was going to be better than Twinkle Towne. Kelsi had e-mailed the idea to everyone; Sharpay, Ryan, Chad, Taylor, Jason, Zeke, Gabriella, Cam and most of all Troy, asking them to put something special in it. Of course, Chad had put sports, Sharpay had made one of the characters like her junior year self and Taylor had made the main girl character a genius.

All in all, the musical turned out to be much like their school years. The jock and the brainiac trying to break free from their social groups, while their friends tried to split them apart. The jock was a basketball player who was heartless– a part added by Gabriella surprisingly. The brainiac was kind and gentle- which was added by Jason.

The best friends were a baker whose personality resembled Zeke's and a firm believer in education, which Cam named Taylor for obvious reasons. Ryan decided to make the jock a little clueless when it came to brainiac which everyone agreed with. Sharpay's character was named Lucy and she was really something, a bratty drama queen that had Sharpay written all over it.

Troy had decided that he would add a portion with just the jock. The jock would be thinking about the brainiac -like he did about Gabriella- contemplating his feelings for her and finally plucking up the courage to ask her despite what his friends thought, when he would collapse on center stage. The end of the play was set in the hospital, with the jock on a bed and the brainiac seated beside him. The jock would die slowly -much like Troy had thought he would when he collapsed- after finally telling the brainiac that he was head over heals in love with her.

Troy had thought that would be a nice little touch for Mack and Calum's relationship.

Kelsi had loved the idea. After reading it through, the story was just about the same as junior year, except the two were trying to get together instead of star in a musical. It was definitely a romance, but it wasn't as much of a romance as Twinkle Towne was.

Ms. Darbus was pulled out of her reverie when the song ended. She had never been so relax. Standing up she clapped loudly, shouting 'Bravo!' and 'Brava!' to the two teens. They smiled at each other before walking over to Cassara.

"How did we do," Mack asked.

"That was beautiful," she said, still not comfortable being with the two basketball stars. "She really liked it. I've never seen her that happy."

"I have," Mack said, remembering Troy's audition when she had flung the clipboard in the air.

"You'll have the scripts as soon as I get them from Kelsi," Ms. Darbus said, pleased that maybe this year he musical would be worth going to see.

"Kelsi," Mack questioned. "Kelsi's making the musical?"

"Yes," Ms. Darbus said, still happy that the two had impressed her as much as they did. "Now, I'll see you two soon."

**So...what do you think? **

**Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**I use American Idol in this and seems as this takes place three years from now, I don't know if it will still be on. But for the sake of one line, pretend!**

**Chapter 11**

Mack laid in her bed, trying to figure out a way to get Calum to be okay on stage. She knew Adam was helping him, but Adam...she shook her head. He didn't exactly know how to do those kind of things.

The phone rang, but didn't want to pick it up. Finally after the fourth ring, she decided to turn and grab the phone off the hook. "Hello?"

"Congratulations!"

"How did you know Troy?"

He laughed. "I helped with your script. Don't tell Ms. Darbus, but Kelsi asked us all to put something in it to make it special."

She smiled, liking the fact that her brother and his friends would be part of the musical. "Did you know Sharpay and Ryan had a sister?"

"Yeah. I've never met her, Ry says she's real quiet."

"Well, she's the pianist."

"Really? I would have thought she'd be part of the play."

"Yeah, I know. Cassara, that's her name."

"Seems as Ryan has the only common name in that family. So, how are you doing?"

"Fine I guess."

There was a pause. "You mean there's nothing important or exciting that you want to tell me," he asked suspiciously.

Mack thought for a minute. "No, I think you know everything."

"I believe that my congratulations wasn't just for the play. Mom told me last time she called that certain someones are back together."

She gasped. "You mean I haven't told you? Oh, well yeah."

"How did it happen." Troy laughed at himself asking her this, seems as he gave Bailey the idea.

"Well, there was karaoke after the game and I think you can figure it out from there..."

Troy smiled on the other end. "Well, I just wanted to get that out of you. Good luck with the musical!"

"Love you Troy."

"Love ya too, Sis."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"Okay, sing a few bars and I'll tell you what I think."

"This is embarrassing," Calum said under his breath. When Adam said that he knew someone who would help him convince himself that he was good, he didn't think it would be Gemma, Bridget and Sadie, his little sisters.

Calum started singing, keeping his eyes clamped shut. Adam stood in the distance, nodding his head when Calum's voice hit his ears. When he stopped he opened his eyes to see the girls mouths open.

"Wow," Sadie, the youngest at seven, said. "You're good."

"Yeah, Calum," Gemma, who was fourteen and the oldest told him. "I don't know what you're worried about. If I didn't know you and saw you at this musical, I'd think you were the greatest thing. You're cute and a good singer."

"Thanks Gem," Calum said, not sure if he should be taking it as a compliment or not.

"I thought you were good," Bridget said holding up a card that said nine. "I'd give you a ten, but you had you're eyes shut."

"Thanks girls, that will be all," Adam said. "Cal, let's go get something to eat."

Calum stood up and followed Adam out of the room. "I thought you said your sisters were tough when it came to singing."

"They are. Bridget made Gemma's friend go home crying once, and she wasn't that bad."

The two walked into the kitchen laughing because Adam tried to impersonate the friend and wasn't doing very well. He couldn't hit the high notes that she obviously could, making it sound absolutely horrible.

"Hey guys, what's up," Adam's mother Marie asked when they walked in.

"Oh, nothing," Adam said grabbing something off the counter and flinging it at Calum. "Eat it. I don't know what it is, but it's good." He looked over his shoulder at Calum and laughed at the skeptical boy. "It's food Calum, don't worry."

"What were you listening to," Marie asked.

"Calum," Adam said nonchalantly. Marie's eyes widened. "Calum, you have a very nice voice."

"Thanks."

"I thought you were listening to one of Gemma or Bridget's c-d's."

"You know," Adam said. "Calum's going to be in the musical."

"Really," she asked. "Good for you, using that voice."

"Told you! Now that's four of my family members that say you're good and they usually agree with evil Simon on American Idol."

Calum laughed a little at this. When they finished eating, Adam pulled him into the backyard. "Now, we're starting you off easy. You're singing to Feedy, Pebbles, Diamond and Socks." When Adam said the names he pointed to one of the four stuffed animals he had lined up in the backyard.

"You still have names for your stuffed animals?"

"They're not mine," Adam said, blushing. "They're Sadie's. Now sing to them."

Calum sang, although he was laughing a little to the stuffed animals. Adam was watching him very carefully to make sure that his eyes were open the whole time. When Adam was satisfied with Calum's performance the two made their way back to the house. Adam walked to the deck door to find it slightly open and Sadie's head sticking out. She giggled, "I liked it again."

The boys laughed and Adam picked the little blond girl up, bringing her to the kitchen where Gemma, Bridget and Gemma's friend Opal were sitting at the table with Marie. Adam put the girl down and she ran to a chair to sit with the girls. Adam and Calum walked out of the room and made it three steps before Adam put his arm out to stop Calum so they could listen.

"He is cute," they heard Opal squeal.

"I told you, but don't get your hopes up. He's taken," Gemma said disappointed.

"Why don't you two focus on boys your age," Marie said. "You don't need to worry about seniors."

"But Calum's so cute mom!"

"And he's got a good voice," Sadie added, not really understanding what they were talking about.

Adam chuckled. "They like you Calum."

"Wonderful. I have eighth graders who want me! That makes me feel great," he added sarcastically as they walked out the door to the outside. The two started to laugh as they walked to Teagan's house which was only a few blocks away. They rang the doorbell and Teagan answered. Calum and Adam shared a look, seems as he had lipstick smeared on his face.

"How are you doing," Adam said. "Thought we'd come by, but I guess you already have company."

"Why didn't you tell us," Calum asked. "Who is it?"

Teagan just stayed silent. Adam looked to Calum. "You know, if he's not going to tell us, we'll have to guess."

"Correct. Now, who could this mystery girl be?"

"Is it some smart decathlon chick," Adam asked.

"Or, is it a cheerleader?"

"Is she mega hot?"

"Or sort of pretty? Is she short," Calum asked.

"Or tall?"

"Would you stop it," Teagan said, pushing them out the door. "It's no one." One look at their faces told him that they didn't believe what he's just said.

"Teag! You know you can tell us," Calum said.

"And coming from him, that means a lot. He's got eighth graders that want him." Calum glared at Adam, who continued as if he'd just said the temperature. "Tell us, please!"

"Fine, but you have to keep it a secret."

"Then you might not want to tell Adam," Calum teased.

**So, who is this mystery girl...hmmm...I wonder...**

**Tell me what you think!**

**Review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the wait, my brother was in a baseball tournament thing...arg.**

**And some of you have said that you wont be around during July to read and review. That's perfectly okay, especially my parents just told me we're going on a family vacation for pretty much the whole month of July. Parents, gosh. Well...**

**I'll try to update one more time before we leave. We're going away on Thursday so...**

**Well, enough of that and on with the story!**

**Chapter 12**

Mack stopped walking suddenly in the hallway. People walked around her as if she was a rock in a waterfall. Her eyes widened and she dropped the script she was reading. Grabbing her cellphone out of her pocket, she ran to a place where she knew no one would follower and dialed a number.

"Hey Colby, it's Mack. Is my brother there," she asked sweetly as she walked onto the roof. There was a slight pause before Troy answered.

"What the hell," she yelled into the phone.

"What?"

"The end, it was your idea wasn't it?"

There was silence from the other end. "What are you talking about?"

"The end of the musical where the jock collapses. That was obviously your idea."

"And?"

"Why," she asked. "Why would you have the jock die?"

Troy rubbed his eyes and sighed. He rubbed his temples before before he answered her question. "Not everybody lives happily ever after like fairy tales."

"But you love fairy tales," she whispered. "That's what kept you going when you got sick." She blinked slowly. "You're not sick again are you?"

There was a cough on the other end of the line. "No, don't worry about me. I'm not sick."

"Don't lie to me Troy."

"Okay," he said. "I was a little sick after Christmas. I went down to the campus nurse-"

"The campus nurse!" She was now standing up and stomping around as if her temper tantrum would make any difference. "The campus nurse couldn't do anything for you! She doesn't know your history, probably send you back with Nightquil or something."

"Yeah, that's what Gabriella said. I guess I got pretty bad, not as bad as you've seen me, but got Colby and the guys scared. Colby took me to the emergency room one night."

"Pneumonia," Mack asked.

"You should be a doctor," Troy said.

"Only because of you," she said. "But anyway, you never answered my question. Why did you have the jock die?"

"Well I looked back, and Cam told me once that one of the hospital visits...I can't remember which one, but one of them was supposed to kill me. I guess I got some inspiration from that."

"Okay Troy, good acting, now why did you do it?"

Troy laughed. "As I said, life isn't like the fairy tales." She heard a loud crash in the background. "Gotta go. Love ya."

She shut her phone and leaned on the bar, looking at the city. Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes, shivering slightly as the cool breeze touched her body. Suddenly she felt muscular arms wrap around her waist. "What are you doing up here," Calum whispered in her ear.

"Have you read the end of the script," she asked turning to face him.

"Yeah. We should have the audience in tears," he said, his brown eyes twinkling. "I like it."

She sighed. "It looks like I'm the only one having a problem with it. It was Troy's you know, that one part."

"I had a feeling," Calum said leaning on the railing.

"Why aren't you the rest?"

"It was boring without you. Everyone is...for lack of a better word, making-out."

Mack turned her head, her blue eyes locking with Calum's. "Even Teagan?"

"He's with Keisha."

Her eyes widened. "Really," she asked. "And how come I didn't know this?"

"I'm not sure, Adam told just about everything that moves."

She giggled, believing him. "I love Adam," she said.

"More than me," he asked, pouting. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he smiled, giving her an idea. She put a finger to his lips.

"He has a cute smile," she teased. "But not as cute as yours."

"Well Miss Bolton, you have some competition too," he said. "Some _younger_ women."

"Oh really, do I know them," she asked as if she were really concerned.

"Gemma and her friends."

"Gemma Duval? She'll be over you in a week and onto the next cute, singing sensation. I'm not worried."

"How do you know?"

She smirked. "You seem to have forgotten that I was her age once. I know, she'll drop you like a fly and you'll be all mine once again."

Calum wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his forehead gently against hers. "You will always have my heart," he whispered before she shut her eyes and he kissed her. When she opened her eyes she said, "you'll always have mine too."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"Alright, now for the big stuff. You get to sing to yourself," Adam announced. He, Calum and Teagan were standing in Calum's bedroom and Calum was right in front of a full length mirror.

"Yeah," Teagan agreed. "If you get over the fear of seeing yourself sing, singing for others should be easy."

Calum chuckled nervously. "Yeah, easy," he said his voice quivering.

"Cal, come on."

Soon, Calum's voice was filling the room and the house. Adam and Teagan looked at each other and smiled, both seeing Calum's obvious talent. On the other side of the door, Karen Boucher listened to her son's relaxing voice.

When Calum stopped singing, he turned to Adam and Teagan. "That wasn't so bad."

"No it wasn't, but I'm hungry," Adam said.

"When are you not hungry is the better question," Teagan said. Calum laughed and led the way down the stairs to get food. "I'm growing," Adam said.

"Growing," Calum scoffed. "You're the same height you were as a freshman."

"No...I've grown," Adam said. "I'm taller than you now."

"Everyone's taller than me," Calum complained. "Except maybe Cam. He might be my height."

The three laughed, knowing that the good times they shared would never end. Karen walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where they boys were. She held out a envelope. "Hun, this came in the mail today."

He grabbed what his mother was handing him and looked at the return address. His eyes widened and he practically spit out his drink.

"What is it Calum," Adam asked.

"It's from Duke," he whispered.

**Okay, what could Duke possibly want with Calum...hmm...**

**Review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Alright I updated. I was supposed to do my summer homework first (I know, who gives out summer homework, at least it's English...) Anyway, I hope you liked it.**

**And, for anyone who was having what my brothers call a 'senior moment' Duke, in the last chapter and in this one too, is Duke University, not a person and they're known for always having a good basketball team.**

**Chapter 13**

"Duke," Adam said in surprise. "As in Duke University? As in one of the best basketball schools in the country, Duke University?"

Teagan looked at him amazed. "What other Duke would it be, the dog on the baked beans commercial?"

Adam's cheeks turned red. "Open it Calum, see what it says."

Calum tore off the envelope a little before passing it to Teagan. "You open it, I can't."

Rolling his eyes, Teagan took the envelope. "Pathetic," he muttered looking at the two other teenagers. Calum's eyes were wide and Adam was chewing his fingernails in anticipation. He took the letter out and read it to himself, with every word his eyes widened. He took the paper that was under the one he was reading. "You might want to fill this out," he said passing the papers to Calum.

Calum read the letter three times before looking back and forth between the letter and the paper. "What does it say," Karen asked.

"Yeah Cal, what does it say," Adam asked, clearly impatient.

"They're offering me...they came to one of the games...I never talked to them, I never applied."

"Calum! Just tell me what's in the letter," Adam exploded.

"They're offering me full scholarship if I play for them. I don't know how they knew..."

The last sentence slipped away because everyone's thoughts were on the words full scholarship. From the look on Adam's face, you would have thought it was him who received the letter. Teagan looked amazed and Karen was in shock.

"I guess we know where you're going," Adam said.

"Oh sweetheart, I'm so proud of you," Karen gushed, hugging Calum so tight he could barely breathe. Calum made funny faces to Adam and Teagan, who laughed in response.

"I still don't get it," Calum said after his mother left the room. "How could this have happened?"

Adam shrugged and Teagan seemed to be raking his brain for ideas. "But, who cares," Adam said. "Our Calum's going to Duke!"

Calum smiled at the idea, full scholarship. 'Wow,' he thought.

"I know!"

Calum and Adam jerked their heads to look at Teagan. "I know how they knew about you."

"How," Calum asked, he and Adam leaning over the table getting right in Teagan's face.

"Think about it Calum, you hadn't even thought about college, and we have a coach that's already been through that. I think Coach Bolton gave them some tapes."

"You really think he'd do that?"

"Calum get real," Adam said. "Anyone with eyes can see you have talent! Heck, you could probably be in the high school hall of fame, if there was one. Plus Coach sees you as a son and he wants what's best for you...and Duke will definitely help you."

Calum smiled. "But, all this stuff aside, we need to work on your singing. The musical is coming up around the corner."

"Who am I singing to now?"

"Mack, Bailey and Keisha."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"I think this is a good song."

"No way!"

"Come on Cal! This is a good one, I agree with Teagan."

"Do you hear that," Mack as Bailey and Keisha who were sitting with her in the living room of the Bolton household. They had been watching a movie when she heard voices coming from outside.

"Yeah," Bailey said. "What are they trying to do?"

"I don't know," Keisha said. "And I don't think I want to."

"Me either," Mack said turning up the volume on the television. "We're just getting to the good part."

She heard a knock on the wall and turned. Adam was standing in the doorway. She sighed and paused the movie. "What," Bailey asked.

In a butler type voice, Adam said, "Bailey Lynn, Keisha Tale and Mackenzie Lorraine, your company is requested in the backyard."

Mack rolled her eyes and groaned as the other two giggled at Adam. He gave her a smirk and said, "that was Calum's idea."

"It would have been cute if he said it," she told him as she stood up and passed by him. "You're just annoying."

"I thought it was cute," Bailey said kissing his cheek. "What are we doing," she whispered.

"You'll see."

Bailey gave him a look, but all he did was raise his blond eyebrows. When they got to the backyard the three girls noticed that there were chairs set out. Each of the girls sat in one and looked at the three boys. "Now what," Keisha asked.

"Listen," Adam said. Before long, they had started singing and playing drums and guitars. Calum sang (with Adam and Teagan doing backup vocals.)

_Hey Juliet..._

_Hey Juliet_

_Hey I've been watching you. _

_Every little thing you do._

_Every time I see you pass by my home room class,_

_makes my heart beat fast._

_I've tried to page you twice_

_But I see you roll your eyes_

_Wish I could make you real_

_but your lips are sealed. That ain't no big deal._

_Cuz I know you really want me. I hear your friends talk about me._

_So why you trying to do without me. When you got me_

_Where you want me_

_Hey Juliet_

_I think you're fine. _

_You really blow my mind_

_Maybe some day you and me can run away._

_I just want you to know._

_I wanna be your Romeo._

_Hey Juliet_

_Girl you got me on my knees._

_Beggin' please, baby please._

_Got my best DJ on the radio waves sayin',_

Adam leaned over and into Calum's microphone in as low a voice as he could muster up he said, _"Hey Juliet, what are you doin' this week?"_

_Too far to turn around_

_So I'm gonna stand my ground_

_Gimme just a little bit of hope_

_With a smile or a glance _

_Give me one more chance_

_Cause I know you really want me. _

_I hear your friends talk about me._

_So why you tryin' to do without me. _

_When you got me where you want me_

_Hey Juliet._

_I think you're fine_

_you really blow my mind_

_Maybe(maybe) someday(someday) you and me can run away_

_I just want you to know._

_I wanna be your Romeo_

_Hey Juliet_

_Hey Juliet_

_I know you really want me._

_I hear your friends talk about me._

_So why you tryin' to do without me. _

_When you got me. Where you want me._

_If you want us to stay forever_

_For us to hang together_

_So-hear-me-when I-say_

_Hey(Hey hey hey Hey) Juliet_

_Hey Juliet_

_I think your fine_

_you really blow my mind_

_maybe someday_

_you and me can run away_

_I just want you to know_

_I wanna be your Romeo_

_Hey Juliet(hey hey Juliet)_

_Hey Juliet_

_I think your fine_

_you really blow my mind_

_maybe someday_

_you and me can run away_

_I just want you to know_

_I wanna be your Romeo_

_Hey Juliet(hey hey Juliet)_

_Hey Juliet(Hey Hey Hey Hey Juliet)_

The girls clapped and Adam grabbed the microphone. "We'll be here all week!"

Calum walked up to Mack and lifted her up. She smiled. "Hello Romeo."

"Fair Juliet," he replied giving her a kiss. "Remember during karaoke, when we got together?"

"How could I forget?"

"Well, they were going to have me stand on stage alone and embarrass myself by singing this song. They were going to give you a break, but-"

"They decided to have me join the fun," she said sarcastically. "But it was fun. That was a nice song, they should have went through with it just being you."

"Apparently Troy said that we'd be too oblivious and wouldn't realize what the song meant."

She cocked her head to one side and looked into his eyes. "What does Troy have to do with this?"

"You don't know? He came up with the karaoke idea and helped them out when they were stuck looking for a song. Gabriella and him picked out the song we sang."

"I didn't," she said, laying her head on Calum's shoulder. "But I'm glad I do now. Oh and by the way, you look really comfortable singing now."

"Well, I learned from the off key king," he said. "Adam's really good at helping you get over fears."

"He was a little off key wasn't he," Mack said. But she didn't get an answer because Calum decided to kiss her instead. "I love you."

"Love you too."

Looking through the kitchen window, Elaine sighed watching the two happily interact.

**Yeah, so that's Chapter 13. I am bringing pencils, pens and papers on my vacation, but my mother has made this a 'no electronics vacation'. She's not even letting us watch television (partly because my little brother is always in front of the stupid thing) and if we get bored, we can do something with each other. Ugh, the life of having three brothers and a sister! **

**Well, wish me luck! Maybe one more chapter before I head out tomorrow for 'family bonding time!'**

**Tell me what you think!**

**Review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, I think you'll like this chapter (at least the end) a lot. So, go on and read it.**

**Chapter 14**

Calum laid down in the bed that had been wheeled out on stage, pretending to be dead. The performance had actually been pretty cool. Cassara had helped him with make up behind the curtains because he needed to change his appearance when he collapsed.

He smiled watching "Mack's" reaction to "his" death, hoping no one caught on that the dead guy was smiling. Suddenly Jacob, who played Calum's character's older brother Damien stormed out on the stage. When Damien noticed that Alexander was dead he walked to Calum and fake cried on him. No matter how many times they had practiced it, the fact that Jacob, who was a big guy, fell on him sobbing freaked Calum out.

But, it didn't last for long. The very end was Mack's character singing a song about how she hoped Alexander would wait for her. The song was one of Calum's favorites; a ballad that Mack sang beautifully. Of course, he didn't know if he was biased because Mack was his girlfriend and he thought everything she did was wonderful, or if the song was really good.

The curtain call passed by quickly for Calum. He was ushered off stage and then back on for a bow. After the countless times they had practiced it, he knew he could have done it in his sleep.

After the audience started to leave, Mack and Calum made their way out from behind the curtain and toward their friends. Adam chuckled at the sight of Calum, who was covered in make up so he would like pale, but not washed out under the bright lights.

"So, how did we do," Mack asked.

"Honestly you were great," Adam said hugging her after the girls had had their hugs. "Calum on the other hand could have done his fall better."

"Hey, I didn't want to hurt myself!"

"Sure," Adam said. "That's what they all say."

Mack smiled and turned to the door to see a figure. She walked toward it knowing who it was and hugged him. "Hey stranger!"

"You're famous, what do you want with a burnt out star like me," the figure asked. "You did great Mack."

"I didn't think you'd come. Gabriella said to not get my hopes up. She said you're getting behind Troy."

"Yeah, I was in the hospital last night. I couldn't stop coughing," Troy said.

"You don't look good," she said noticing the bags under his eyes and the paleness of his skin. "Do Mom and Dad know?"

"About my visits to the hospital? No."

"You need to tell them. Tell them now," she grabbed his hand and pulled. "They're right over here."

"Mack..." He said trying to resist her pulling, but she was a strong girl and Troy didn't really have the strength to fight her.

"Mom, Dad look what the cat dragged in," she said as she brought Troy to her parents who were talking to Ms. Darbus.

"Oh, Troy Sweetheart! It's great to see you," Elaine said hugging him.

"You okay Troy," Jack asked seeing Troy's face.

"Don't lie," Mack said.

"Alright, I had pneumonia," he told them, "and I was in the hospital last night. I've been worse, but the guys got scared when they saw me like this."

"Why didn't you tell us," Elaine asked looking at Troy from a distance. "You look awful. You shouldn't be flying!"

"I didn't," he said. "Gabriella drove me. She got permission from the head to let me come home and for her to bring me. She watched too, actually, she's over with your friends Mack."

"That's sweet of her," Elaine said. "But, you need to go to bed. A good night sleep always helps when your like this."

Mack watched as her parents gave Troy some attention that she knew he needed. She backed off toward the group of her friends watching her family as she walked. But she bumped into someone on her way over.

"Gabriella told us about Troy," Calum said holding her. "Is he really bad?"

She shrugged. "He's been worse, but it's still scary to see him that pale."

He put an arm around her shoulders. "How about we head out of here and go to the playground."

"Calum it's dark!"

"There's stars."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Troy woke up in his own bed. He turned around in his old sheets before opening his eyes. "Good morning sleepyhead," Gabriella said feeling his forehead. "You're still warm. You got a really high fever last night."

"I'm not surprised. I usually do."

"Okay, I got you pancakes, waffles and cereal. I didn't know what you'd be up for," she told him. "Oh and your mom gave me this disgusting looking drink that she says you drink when you're sick." Gabriella held it up and winced. "What is it?"

"Ginger ale, three types of fruit juices, a little water and some Gatorade."

"Eww," she said passing it to him. "You seriously drink that?"

"Ever since I was five, came up with it myself."

"Does it help?"

"No, but it tastes good and it soothes my throat."

She shook her head. "Can you eat anything?"

He looked at the plate, "what kind of pancakes are those?"

"I don't know," she said. "Your dad made them. I don't think they're anything special like strawberry or blueberry or anything."

"That's for sure," he said. "You never met my dad the chef have you?"

"Your dad's a chef."

"Nope, he can't cook if his life depended on it. I think I'll try the cereal," he said leaning over to grab it. Before he grabbed it, he laid back in the bed and took a deep breath. "Okay, no more leaning over. I don't feel like puking when I don't have to."

Gabriella smiled and picked up the bowl. "Are you sure you want to eat?" His reply was his stomach growling. "I'll take that as a yes."

Troy reached out for the bowl. "No," Gabriella said. "I'm feeding you."

"No! I don't want to feel like a baby!"

"You're acting like one. Just let me feed you, just once." His eyes narrowed at her, but he opened his mouth. "See that's not so bad huh?"

Troy groaned. "I haven't been this sick in a long time," he said.

"I know, your mom told me," she said. "Can I put the ring back on?"

"Gabriella-"

"I know you don't want them to know yet...but Troy I want to show it off," she whined, placing the bowl on the ground. "Maybe they'll be happy."

"Mom will be happy. Dad will flip that-"

"Troy, it's not like we're getting married soon! After college, when we're ready. Please, I really want to tell everyone."

"You really want to," he asked. She smiled and nodded her head. "Fine, put it on. But don't surprised if Dad has my head!"

She reached in her pocket and grabbed a beautiful diamond ring. She placed it on her finger and smiled. "Troy, I bet you, your dad won't get mad that we're engaged."

"You don't know him like I do," he said. "I'm almost positive that he'll flip. He didn't want-"

"Troy," she said leaning over him. "Shut up before you start rambling."

"I love you," he said before he leaned up and kissed her.

"I hope so, because you spent a lot on this ring."

He shrugged before putting a hand to his mouth. Gabriella held the bucket to his face and looked away. She felt bad that he was sick, but there was no way of stopping it. They had called the doctor and he had said to wait it out.

Well, she'd been waiting it out all night.

He laid against his pillow and turned on his side, looking at Gabriella. She put a hand on his forehead and sighed before grabbing the thermometer on the bedside table. She placed it gently in his ear and pressed the button. "Your fever's coming back."

"Great," he sighed.

"Go to sleep," she said rubbing his cheek. "I'll be here when you wake up."

He smiled before shutting his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

**So, they're engaged...aww...**

**Poor Troy's sick, but Gabriella will be there for him. **

**So, if I don't update before I leave for my vacation or what ever you want to call going to a place with a mother who wont let you watch tv or anything...have a happy July and I'll update as soon as I get back.**

**Review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello again. It seems like ages since I've sat in this chair and typed up a chapter. Well, this isn't my favorite, but it's the first chapter I wrote while I was away. **

**And don't ask about how many chapters because I'm not telling until I feel the time is right.**

**Also, I have written the final chapter, and it will be ended sadly by the end of the summer.**

**Anyway...**

**Chapter 15**

Mack sighed and leaned against the doorway that led into Troy's room. He and Gabriella had left earlier that morning so they could make it to their Monday classes. Troy wasn't fully back to normal, but he was given an okay to travel from Elaine.

She hadn't been shocked at all when the night before Troy and Gabriella had told them their big news. Smiling, she remembered herself squealing and giggling. Elaine had smiled and kept fairly quiet. Mack could tell she was happy, but shocked. Jack hadn't said anything for a minute and Troy's eyes had been on him the entire time. Finally Jack smiled and told Gabriella to keep him in line.

Mack walked over to Troy's bed and laid down on the freshly made up covers. She felt some paper crinkling beneath her and she turned over. There was nothing there. She searched around her before untucking the covers and throwing the sheets from the bed. There she found a piece of paper with Troy's handwriting scribbled over it.

'Dear Who Ever Finds This,

I hid this in my bed so that no one would find it until after I'm gone, but I'm sure someone's stumbled upon it. I bet the first to read this will be Mack, but you never know.

Anyway, the point of this is...well I don't know how to put it. I've been really sick lately. Sicker than I've been in a long time. I think maybe my time's coming to a close and I want to get the most out of it as I possibly can. Mack, if you reading this I know you're thinking 'Troy you can't give up!' and I'm not. As I said before I want to get the most out of it and that means- no matter how sick I am- I don't want to see the insides of another hospital.

And, I hope I can die peacefully at home, whether that be at my house, Mom and Dad's house, UCLA, or any other place. As I'm writing this I'm coughing. Colby's reading over my shoulder, it's really annoying because I know he's sympathetic for me, but that's the last thing I want. No one knows how it feels to go through what I've been through except a select few and I hate it when people think they can understand.

My life has been great and I'm happy that everyone has helped me in the past 21 years, but right now...I don't know.'

Mack's eyes filled with tears. So Troy really did think he was going to die. She didn't know what to do with it, show it to her mother? Show it to her father? Show it to no one?

Who would write such a letter! "Ugh! Why," Mack screamed, hoping no one heard her. "Troy you're so stupid! I hate you!"

Then she collapsed into a fit of tears. She really didn't hate him, she loved her big brother with all her heart. Mack brushed her tears away and grabbed a piece of paper similar to Troy's out of a notebook. She shut her eyes quickly before grasping a pen in her hand and beginning to write.

'Dear Whom Ever Opens This,

My name is Mackenzie Bolton and I'm a senior at East High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'm writing this because I just found a letter my brother wrote. It was a 'just in case I die' letter.

So, just in case, I'm writing one too.'

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Calum laid down in the grass of his front yard and took a deep breath of air. He felt the bright May sun hitting his skin and sighed. His eyes shut and he stretched his long muscular legs out and threw his arms over his head.

He only had about one month left of high school. One month left of being a kid, then off to Duke.

In some ways he was excited about going. It was the best place for basketball, it was a good university. But, he'd be away from all his friends and more importantly Mack. He hated the thought of that. Adam was worrying about what he was going to be. "I have no talent," he had yelled Friday when they were talking about careers.

In reality Calum really hadn't thought much about it. The only thing he knew was that he didn't want a job that would require him to be away from his family for long periods at a time. He wanted to be able to coach his kids' teams and be the father he himself had never had.

"Comfy?"

He opened his eyes and looked at the voice. "Oh yeah," he answered before flashing a smile at Mack. "What are you doing here?"

"Is it a crime that I want to be with you," she asked playfully.

Calum sat up and stared into her blue eyes. She walked over from the sidewalk and sat down in his lap, looking into the deep pools of brown that surrounded his pupils. "I've been thinking..."

"About," Calum asked intrigued.

"Nothing," she said hurriedly. "Never mind."

"You can tell me Mack."

She smiled and shook her head. "It's nothing."

Calum pressed his forehead onto hers. "You can tell me Mack. If somethings bothering you...I'll listen."

"I said that it's nothing. Now, what are we going to do today?"

"I don't know, I was hoping that my wonderful, brilliant, beautiful girlfriend would know," he said. "But since she doesn't, we'll have to call Adam up for some ideas."

Mack's eyes widened. "No!"

"I liked Adam's last idea."

"No way, I'm not letting Adam with his sick little mind come up with something to do, because I have a plan. Follow me."

She grabbed his hand and started to run down the street.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Bailey sat in her chair behind Keisha during history class, but she wasn't paying attention. She was staring out the window where Adam and Calum were having gym class - their elective. She couldn't figure out why the two would do extra gym when they could have another course under their wings.

They were boys, they didn't need reasons.

A note fell on her desk. She carefully opened it so that the teacher didn't see. _I can seriously can not wait until prom!_

Bailey shook her head at Keisha's note. That was all Keisha ever talked about ever since the date had been set. _I know_ Bailey wrote before sending it back up.

_I bet Calum and Mack with be king and queen! Have you thought about a dress yet?_

_No, have you?_

Bailey could have sworn she heard Keisha snort. _Of course! Are you stupid Bail, you need to start thinking. The prom is three weeks away! Don't you want to have a gorgeous dress Adam will die for?_

_You've got to be kidding me._

Keisha scribbled fast on the paper before placing it on Bailey's desk. _What? Are you not going or something? _

_Maybe._

_BAILEY MONTELLO! You are going! I am helping you pick out a dress! And you are going to have a great time! _

The bell rang as Bailey finished reading the note. Keisha led her out of the classroom and to the Spanish room where they found Mack stuffing her books in her bag. "Hola," she greeted. "What's up girls?"

"Bailey was thinking of not going to the prom," Keisha told her as if it were an outrage.

"Why Bails," Mack asked confused.

"I don't like dances."

"That isn't a very good reason for missing the prom," Mack told her. "Even if you do have a horrible time, you have to go to your prom. Plus it won't be bad because we'll all be there."

"Fine," Bailey exploded. "I'll go."

Keisha clapped and Mack smiled. "Why did you not want to go?"

"I don't know, I just didn't want to."

Keisha rolled her eyes. "Okay now on to more important matters. What color dress are we looking for?"

**Again, not my fave, but maybe someone likes it. I'll try to post, but I can't make any promises about how many times a day.**

**So, Tell me what you think!**

**Review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay...well. I hope you like this chapter because we have a surprise at the end of it concerning...someone important.**

**Hope you like-**

**Oh! and I have yet to find a Calum or Teagan for those who like looking at the pictures in my profile. I've been looking for a Calum, but if you find someone you think reminds you of them tell me by PM or email. Calum has brown hair and brown eyes and Teagan's got some Hispanic heritage in him...so...**

**Chapter 16**

Mack looked at herself in her full length mirror and smiled. It was perfect. She was in a strapless baby blue dress with sparkles, her mother had helped her put on just the right amount of make-up, she wore a silver clip in her hair and silver shoes. Tonight would be perfect.

She felt like a princess as she slowly walked down the stairs where her father and Calum were in a heated conversation about the Lakers and the Knicks. Calum stopped mid sentence when he saw her and smirked. Jack turned and smiled at his daughter.

"I love you Princess," he said as he enveloped her in a hug.

"Love you too Daddy."

He held her at arms length and took a good look at her. "You're growing up too fast for me."

Mack smiled and patted her father on the back. "I'll always be your little girl."

After the infamous prom pictures had been taken Mack and Calum walked outside. They looked up into the night sky and smiled. "I love the stars," Mack told him. "They just make you feel..."

"Happy? Excited?"

"Yeah," she said looking into his eyes. "What about you?"

"They remind me that everyone's different. Even though they look the same their not, you know?"

She nodded and grabbed his hand. "Let's walk."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No," she answered. "It's a nice night."

"But you're in heels..."

"You underestimate my feet," she said. "Let's go. I want to make this memorable and if my feet are sore for a month...who cares?"

Calum gave her a look before following her down the street. Mack was definitely different from any girl he'd ever met before. She was willing to be herself in front of anyone. Maybe that's what he liked most about her.

"Were you planing this the entire time," Calum asked.

"If I said yes you wouldn't be mad, right?"

He laughed a little before grabbing her hand and jerked it into a swinging motion. "Why?" She stopped and looked at him, "Why what?"

"Why did you want to walk?"

She looked to the road before turning back to Calum. "I guess it was something Bailey said." He gave her a questioning look so she continued. "She said she'd rather be alone with Adam than be at this big dance that everyone talks about and have things go horribly wrong. This way we have a little more time together before we get there. And...we get to be fashionably late."

"I like the way you think," Calum said grabbing both of her hands and leading her to a swing in the park they were passing through. He sat down and pulled her into his lap before gently kissing her on the lips. He pressed his forehead to hers and smiled down at her.

"I'd rather sit in the stars with you all night," she whispered.

"Me too, but I think Adam, Bailey and them will get worried if we don't show up."

"Bailey would have my head. I'm the one that convinced her to come tonight. If I didn't show, she'd be mad."

"You can say that again," Calum replied.

Mack stood and waited to him to get up from the seat of the swing. He did so ever so slowly before picking her up wedding style and walking out of the park. "Calum! Put me down," she screamed.

"I don't want your feet to hurt to much before our long night of dancing," he reasoned.

"How sweet," she said in disgust. "You know I hate being carried."

"Yeah," he said. "That's why I'm doing it."

She was about to say something when Calum covered her mouth with his lips. "You're mean," she told him when the kiss was broken off. "And a bully."

"But you love me."

"You're right I do," she giggled. Calum brought his face close to hers, but she put her finger to his lips. "We need to get going or else we're going to be so late." Calum just shrugged and kissed her anyway before quickening his pace.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Troy shut his eyes and stretched out on the bed. Colby and Frankie had put their beds together to make one big bed for Troy since he wasn't feeling very well. There was a knock at the door and Troy moaned softly. The door creaked open and Troy didn't even open his eyes.

"Dude you look great," came a sarcastic voice that could only belong to one person.

"Thanks Chad," Troy said as he opened his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing here? I'm visiting. We had a three day break thing so I decided to take advantage of it and fly across the country, see my dude." Chad sat down on the edge of the bed. "How are you doing?"

"Honestly? I haven't felt this bad in a long time."

"You'll be fine," Chad said confidently.

"How do you know?"

"Hello?" Chad waved a hand in front of Troy's face. "Am I not the one who grew up with you? Am I not your best friend? So you're sicker than normal. Is it your heart or something?"

"Nah. Gabriella thought the same thing so she brought me to the hospital to check and see if I needed a new battery for my defibrillator. Next year I will but right now it's just my immune system acting up again."

"Or not acting at all," Chad said.

"You could say that."

"Your roommates have that look in their eyes that says 'Troy's dying.' You haven't told them have you?"

"Told them what?"

Chad groaned. "You know what Troy, sometimes you need to tell some people so they don't worry, or so they know how to help you."

Troy turned his head to look out the window. "It just never came up."

"Gabriella said you've been sick for...since February. Surely there has been times when you could have told them the truth. Troy look at me!" Chad studied Troy's blue eyes. "Don't tell me you're thinking of giving up."

"I've thought about it." Chad grabbed one of Troy's wrists. "I said I thought about it."

"Well I don't trust you anymore. Last you decided not to tell anyone you almost overdosed-"

"That was something completely different!"

"Had Cam and I not walked in, whether it was intentionally or not, you have taken too many and would have killed yourself."

"I'm not suicidal, if that's what your trying to say."

Chad sighed. "It wasn't. But think of this; people die everyday and you've been given a lot of second chances."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"Chad!"

He turned to see Gabriella running toward him. She stopped right in front of him. "I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?"

"I know you probably wanted to spend your three day break with Taylor, but you came here instead."

"Well he's my best friend, I had to try and get him back to himself-"

"But that's just it," she said interrupting him. "I think you helped him. I don't know what you said in there, but his attitude changed. He's up and walking and doing things he hasn't done since February."

"It's only been what two since I talked to him. There's no way what I said had anything to do with his health," he said.

"But it did. I think it might have been psychological."

Chad looked confused. "Huh?"

"I think he was really sick in February, but after that he was just...he had it in his mind that he was going to be sick forever, so he was. Until you..." She turned. "I'll let you go, your flight...three hours in advance right."

He walked to the car he had rented. "Oh and Chad?" Turning he saw Gabriella standing with her arms crossed. "I know how you hate flying."

"It was worth it."

"Troy knew too."

**Well? Off to type Chapter 17!**

**Tell me what you think.**

**Review!**

**(Oh and for HauntedWhisper714 – Bailey's dress was purple even though I didn't talk about it.)**


	17. Chapter 17

**I really don't have much to say except we have found a Calum. Some of you might have a made up figure in your head, and that's fine. This is just how I will be picturing him. Thanks to Mocha Addict for finding someone!**

**Also, I hate saying this, but these next chapters will be the last...I'm really going to miss writing about these characters...**

**Anyway!**

**Chapter 17**

"Hey! Come to my party!"

Calum turned around shaking his head as he heard Adam's voice fill the hall. He was passing out horrible, fluorescent yellow papers that had typed letters written all over it. "Here," Teagan said throwing a paper airplane made with the bright yellow paper at Calum. "It's a pre-graduation party Adam's having. Not that you need an invite."

"Why is it on fluorescent yellow-"

"Because that was the only color they had left in the copy room," Adam said walking up and interrupting Calum's sentence. "I see you already have one, good work Teagan."

"I try," he answered unenthusiastically.

"When is it," Calum asked.

"Look at the-"

"Adam, he wants to be able to see at this party. If he looks at the paper, he wont be able to."

Adam stuck his tongue out at Teagan before turning to Calum. "Friday night. Graduation is on Monday so everyone can come without it having to end at some lame time like nine or ten."

Calum nodded. "Who's the DJ?"

"My CD player. You know, the big one in the living room that can hold ten CDs, that should last us. Keisha and Bailey are making some up with a mix of genres."

"You think of everything," Calum told Adam as he shut his locker and they headed out the doors of the school.

"Oh yeah. I've got all the kids out of the house too. Gemma's going to Opal's house. Bridget, Sadie Kevin and Sam are camping in the backyard with movies and a television with an extension cord. So we're all set." He gave them two thumbs up. "No annoying little brothers and sisters. I could scream for joy!"

"They can't be that bad."

"No Teag, sometimes I envy you for being an only child," Adam said as they walked into the grassy area near the front of the school. "This is the only place I can go and not be followed around by one of them!"

Calum and Teagan smiled as Adam laid down on the grass. "When Gemma comes here next year, I'll be miles and miles away from here and I'm never coming back. I'm going to live on a secluded island that none of them know of until their mature and...old enough so I don't wake up with silly string in my shoe."

"Adam," Teagan said. "A secluded island?"

"Yes. Or maybe I'll just move to some town in Massachusetts or Maine, New Hampshire maybe. They'd never think to look there."

"Good luck with the winters," Teagan said.

"What are you doing after high school and college," Adam asked. "Are you going to stay in Albuquerque?"

"I don't know. I'd like to," Calum said. Teagan shrugged.

"Well I'm ditching this place."

"You are such a drifter," Teagan said. "Bailey and you can just travel around the world in your trailer."

Adam shook his head at Teagan before smiling. "You seriously don't understand. Calum you know what it's like to have siblings. Cam must have been awful if he's as bad as I am to my little brothers."

Calum shrugged and sat next to Adam on the grass. "Sure he's embarrassing, but after Da...Daniel left, he wasn't so bad."

Teagan looked sympathetically at Calum before glaring at Adam, who wasn't paying any attention and hadn't heard a word Calum had said. "Hey, what's there to do at this party?"

"Huh...oh party! Dance and 'mingle' as my mother put it." Adam looked up into the sun and sighed lazily. "It is going to be awesome."

"I still can't believe we're graduating," Teagan said. "It feels like just yesterday we were in ninth grade and scared to death. I don't know if I want to leave."

"Oh I don't know, it's a whole new experience," Calum said.

"No I mean leave my friends and my dad for college."

Adam snorted. "It's just like going to camp. We're going to see each other during breaks." He grabbed Calum and drew him into a head lock. "You're stuck with the two of us man," he said to Teagan while he messed up Calum's hair.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Mack laid her head on Calum chest and shut her eyes. The party had been awesome. The music blasted some of their favorite songs and they danced the night away. But as the hours drained away, kids began to leave until it was just Adam, Calum, Bailey and Mack left. Teagan had left to drop a sleeping Keisha off at home.

"Hey," Calum said as she shut her eyes. "Are you really that tired?"

She nodded into his chest. "And you're just so comfortable."

He looked down at her and smiled before starting to stroke her hair. She glanced up at him and Calum gently stroked her cheek. "You're beautiful," he whispered.

"Thanks." After she spoke, a yawn escaped her body. Calum laughed, "I guess you are tired."

"What time is it?"

He pulled his arm from around her waist and looked at his watch. "It's...one thirty. No wonder you're tired. I'm going to help Adam clean up a little and then we can head out okay." She nodded and slipped off his lap.

"Dude you can take her home if you want," Adam said. "I got it here."

"You sure," Calum asked looking around. The living room was a disaster and he felt bad that Adam would have to clean it all up.

"Bailey's in the kitchen putting the food away. It's not that bad. I've got to take her home anyway. You two head out, I got it. Don't feel bad either. I know you too well."

Calum smiled. "Are you sure you're going-"

"Cal! Come on. If you really want to help so bad, by all means stay. I'll take the girls home and you can clean."

"No thanks," Calum said. "I'll take Mack. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course, we're going to the movies remember," Adam said.

"What are we seeing anyway?"

"Some chick flick," Adam sighed. "And it's one they really want to see too, so they're going to be focused on the guy in the movie instead of us!"

"Jealous," Calum asked.

Adam shook his head. "Of some rich actor who will fifteen houses and twenty yachts by the time he's forty? No way." Adam hit his head off the couch. "I wish I had the money for fifteen houses and twenty yachts!"

"Well, when Teagan finds the cure to some unbearable disease and has loads of money, we'll have him buy us houses and yachts."

"I like the way you think."

Calum chuckled before grabbing Mack's sweatshirt off the couch. "I do too."

"Wait, you're going to be some big shot basketball guy. Why would you want to be friends with a computer nerd and a drifter?"

"I'm not going to be 'some big shot basketball guy.' I don't want to be."

Adam shook his head. "You're nuts. If I had your talent, I'd try to be in the NBA. Then I could pay for my houses, my yachts and any other debt I'm going to be in."

"See that's how we're different dude. You want to be away from your family, I want the opposite."

"What ever floats your boat," Adam joked.

Calum shook his head and walked over to Mack. "Hey? It's time to go," he whispered in her ear. Her eyes blinked open and she smiled. "I'm ready."

"Yeah, me too."

She stood and Calum walked her out the door to his car. Suddenly she wasn't so tired anymore and she fiddled with the radio until she found a station she liked. Calum sat down on the drivers side and drove out of the driveway.

**Okay...how'd you like it?**

**Tell me what you think!  
**

**Review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**This is a sequel to all those who are wondering. It's part of a story line that goes like this:**

**Her Fault**

**Stay Away From MY Sister**

**Invisibility**

**It Ends Tonight**

**Anyway, you want to read.**

**Chapter 18**

Calum stopped at an intersection and drummed his fingers on the wheel of the car. It was dead on the roads; he'd passed all of two cars. He started wondering what his mother would say when he walked through the door at one thirty in the morning. Would she be mad? He was only at Adam's.

Mack was thinking the same thing. Her mother had told her to go and have a good time, but she saw the look in her father's eyes. The look that said he didn't want her out all night. She'd seen it millions of times between her and Troy.

He couldn't do something horrible. Troy always broke curfew; they were shocked when he was on time. But Mack tried her hardest to make it home before the designated hour. Tonight was different though. Her parents hadn't set a time for her to be back, so was she really breaking curfew?

She heard what sounded like a race car in the distance. Slowly she turned her head and saw the bright lights of the car coming straight at her and Calum. She grasped Calum's hand and shut her eyes right at the car rammed into Calum's side, sending the car off the road hitting a tree.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Jack ran into the emergency room at two thirty in the morning as if it was three in the afternoon. Elaine followed behind him, quickly jogging though a much less crowded waiting room than the ones she was used to with Troy.

She noticed that some doctors passing by gave her sympathetic looks and she just knew the outcome wasn't going to be one she liked very much. All she knew was Mack was in the hospital, but she had yet to find out why.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bolton?"

Jack looked into the face of Dr. Hunter Leaf a doctor of forty three who had been interning at the hospital when Troy was born. He had only been twenty two then and was really involved with Troy even though he wasn't going to be doctor that worked with infants. "How is she," Jack asked.

Dr. Leaf took a deep breath. "Um...I don't know how to tell you this, but." He paused as if was at a loss for words. "There's nothing else we can do. She's on machines right now, but she's brain dead. You guys can go in and say your good byes then turn off the life support."

Jack shut his eyes, trying to block the tears from escaping his eyes. Dr. Leaf nodded in sympathy before turning and walking down the hall. Jack looked to Elaine who had collapsed into a chair and then turned back to Dr. Leaf. He ran down the hall to reach him.

"Yes?"

"The other kid in the car. I know it's probably against hospital rules to tell me but...he's a good friend of mines son. Is he okay?"

"Jack, their car was hit by a drunk driver to the driver's side. The other kid died in the ambulance. I'm sorry."

Dr. Leaf continued down the hall leaving Jack to comprehend what he had said. Jack looked back at Elaine and decided not to tell her what the doctor had told him. She didn't need to know that a drunk hit them and (at least for now) she didn't need to know that Calum was dead.

Jack felt a lump in his throat. Calum was dead. Mack was brain dead. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wiped the tears from his face and walked slowly back to Elaine. She looked up at him, silently asking him about Calum. All he could muster was a simple shake of the head. He pulled her into a hug as she started to sob again.

They stood there for a few minutes. When Elaine was ready, they walked down the hall to where Mack was. She laid lifeless on the bed, her eyes closed and cuts covered her face. Tears began to fall freely down Elaine's face again as she looked at her daughter. She covered her mouth with her hand and sat in a chair beside the bed. She grabbed Mack's lifeless hand in her own before uncovering her mouth and stroking Mack's hair.

"I love you," she said.

Jack touched his daughter's cheek with the back of his hand, tears threatening to fall. "I love you too Princess."

"Troy does too baby," Elaine told her. "We're going to miss you so much."

Jack looked to Elaine who nodded. He then turned his attention to the machine that was giving his daughter life. Quickly he looked back to see Elaine singing the lullaby she sang to Troy and Mack into Mack's ear. He sighed and turned off the machine. And alarm sounded for a moment, before it stopped. Elaine collapsed on her daughter's dead body, sobbing uncontrollably.

Jack walked to the window, the sun was making the sky yellow, pink and orange. "Calum," he whispered into the morning air. "Take care of my little girl." Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw a dove do a back flip. It flew into his view and hovered for a moment before another dove flew beside it. The two flew off toward the sun. "Odd," Jack said as he watched the birds fly away.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"You're lying," Adam yelled. Tears were slowly streaming down his face. He covered his face in his hands and from the hallway, four of his little siblings were watching intently.

"I wonder what's wrong," Sadie said voicing all their thoughts. All of them were wondering themselves what force of nature could make their eighteen year old brother cry.

"Something bad," said Sam, who was only two years older than Sadie at nine. "Kevin, what do you think," he asked his older brother. In truth, Kevin, who was twelve, didn't know either. In his whole life he'd only seen Adam cry once- now.

The four turned at the sound of heavy footsteps hitting the steps then the floor of the hallway. "What are you four doing up?"

"Daddy, what's wrong with Adam," Bridget asked.

"We'll tell you in the morning."

"It is morning Daddy," Sadie said. "What's making Adam cry?"

"Yeah Dad," Kevin said.

"Please," Sam whined.

Mike Duval just shook his head. "No," he said. "I'm still trying to come to grips with it myself. You four go to sleep-"

"But I won't be able to go to sleep if I don't know why Adam's crying," Sadie said. She ran to her father and clung onto his leg. "Please?"

"What's going on out here?"

"Mom what's wrong with Adam," Bridget asked as Marie stepped out of Adam's room. "Mike go in there," she told her husband before looking down at the four.

"Is Adam sick," Sadie asked.

Marie closed her eyes, they would have to know sometime and the faster they learned the faster they could get over it. "Kids, follow me."

The four youngest Duval children followed their mother to the living room. Sadie climbed up into her lap and Bridget sat down beside her on the couch. Sam and Kevin sat in the arm chairs, looking at their mother as if she held the button to turn off a bomb that was going to blow in ten seconds.

"If the party was to celebrate, why did it make him sad," Sadie asked remembering that they had to camp outside while Adam had a bunch of kids over.

"It wasn't the party Sadie," Marie said. "Tonight there was an accident down the street and Mack and Calum were...they were killed."

Bridget gasped. "No," she said. Tears began to fall down her cheeks. Sam and Kevin both looked sad and moments away from crying themselves. Sadie just looked up at her mother. "Why does that make everyone sad?"

"Sadie that means...we wont ever see them."

"Why," she asked.

"Because...that's just the way it works. Do you remember when your fish stopped swimming," Marie asked.

"Yeah, we had to flush Summer down the toilet," Sadie said. Her face contorted into a confused expression. "Calum and Mack wont fit in the toilet though."

Marie laughed at her daughter's statement. "No, we're going to bury them in the ground."

"And we're never going to see them again," she said solemnly. "I don't like this."

"Now you lot," Marie said. "I want you to be nice to Adam. He's really upset by this as I'm sure you already know. Now that you know, you can go to bed."

Sadie jumped off Marie's lap and ran up the stairs. Mike was leaving Adam's room and she ran in to find Adam leaning against the wall, his knees to his chest. "Adam," she said. He looked up, his eyes were bloodshot and puffy. "I'm sorry."

He held his hand out and she walked over to it. Her little fingers fell into his large palm before she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "You're really sad. I remember when my fish died, I was sad too." She let go and looked him in the eyes. "But Calum wouldn't want you crying over him."

"You're right," he said. "But I need too for a little while."

"Do you miss him?" Adam nodded. "I do too. You should get some sleep." Again Adam nodded. "He's with my fish in heaven," she whispered in his ear.

**I bet you really hate me for killing them huh? Well I had this planned from day one.**

**There was a reason why I had focused on Adam's family and none of the other's- because of this scene. I really wanted to show how Calum affected that family.**

**I always have a reason for everything – my friends get mad at me when I do that, we'll be talking randomly and then I'll have a reason for why something happens and it ruins the moment.**

**Also, this will be the only one of my Mack stories with an epilogue. So you'll know it's over when the chapter's title is epilogue.**

**Anyway...**

**tell me what you think!**

**Review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm taking all the 'I HATE YOU' reviews as compliments...I guess...**

**On request, I've added Troy's telephone call where he gets informed. Hope you like it!**

**Chapter 19**

The telephone rang right as Jack and Elaine walked into the house. They had just drove around all day trying to clear their minds, but it hadn't worked. "Hello," Jack said.

"Hey Dad, how you doing?"

Jack's face fell at the sound of Troy's voice. He looked over to Elaine, put his hand over the receiver and mouthed 'Troy' to her. Her eyes widened and she walked into the other room, telling Jack she wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

"Dad? You still there?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "Why are you calling now?"

"Is Mack ready to graduate?"

Jack sighed. "About that," he said. "Troy, are you alone?"

"No."

"Good," Jack said. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Troy his sister was dead and have him go into shock or something go wrong with his heart. "Are you sitting down?"

"Jeez, what's with all the questions? Yes I'm sitting down and no, I'm not alone."

"Troy, Mackwasinacaraccidentandshe'sdead."

"Huh," Troy said on the other end. "I didn't understand you. Talk a little slower please."

Jack took a deep breath. "Mack was in a car accident, her and Calum were, a drunk hit them. They're dead."

There was silence on the other end. "What," Troy croaked after a few minutes.

"Troy don't make me say it again."

"When?"

"Two this morning."

"And you didn't call me!" Troy exploded. "I think I have a right to know that my sister is dead as soon as you get a chance to tell me!"

"Troy-"

"Ugh," he groaned. "I can't believe you! That's what all the questions we're about. You didn't think I could handle it. Well guess what Dad I can! Were you going to tell me when the funeral is, or was I not invited?"

"Troy!"

"No, Dad. You should have called me..." Jack sighed as Troy broke down on the other side. "She's really gone," he asked. Jack could tell he was crying.

"Yes."

"I always thought it would be me first," Troy said. "I'm going to fly in for the funeral and stuff. Everything is pretty much wrapped up around here. Who have you called?"

"No one...well I think your mother tried calling Bailey, but she could handle it. That's why we didn't call you. Imagine having to tell your kid that their sibling is dead."

"Sorry about yelling," Troy said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it."

"So Calum is too, huh."

Jack nodded, then he realized that Troy couldn't see him so he said, "yeah."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"In light of recent events," Principal Matsui told his students, "graduation will be postponed until Monday before the last day of school, which is a week from today."

He looked out into the crowd of the assembly. Most of the kids, almost all of the seniors, hadn't showed up. Only half the student body was there and they we're all there mentally. Mack and Calum's deaths had affected the entire community in one way or another. He had debated closing East High for one day just for that reason. But since it was so close to the end of school, he didn't want his kids to have to go one more day than the rest of the schools in Albuquerque.

Coach Bolton, obviously, wasn't there. Neither was Ms. Darbus and a few other teachers – especially the ones close to Boltons.

"Anyone not needing guidance counselors may go to the cafeteria. West High and a few other schools have graciously let us borrow theirs for anyone who needs them."

None of the students moved at first. Mack and Calum had touched a lot of lives. Not only were they popular, but they helped out the underclassmen when needed. They were good kids.

And not a single person could understand why they were dead. They didn't deserve it.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Adam walked into the funeral home with his parents behind him. He signed the guest books and looked at the pictures on the table beside them. Jack, Elaine and Karen had decided to have their children's funerals together and have them buried next to each other. Mike put a hand on his son's shoulder and looked at the senior pictures of the two kids he had known for what seemed like forever.

Adam's eyes lingered on Calum's picture. His brown eyes were twinkling and his white teeth were shining. His brown hair was perfect and he just looked so...cool, suave...

Not dead.

Collecting himself, he walked over to the open room. There, at the front, were two caskets, both open. Had Adam died in a car crash, he would have wanted to have a closed casket funeral. The main reason for their being open, was that Cam and Troy were flying in and this would be the first (and last) time they'd see their siblings before they were buried. This was the first since any of their friends had seen them since the accident as well.

He walked to Mack's first. He looked at her and frowned. If he was Troy, just looking at her would make him break down into tears. She wasn't the Mack who had been at his party. He could barely look at her.

Next came Calum.

He walked slow and looked away as he approached Calum's wooden casket. Before he looked in, he pinched himself to make sure this wasn't a dream. 'Ow,' he thought. Then he turned slowly and looked in. Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap was playing in the background.

Adam took one look at Calum's battered and lifeless body and fell. He cried into Calum's shirt, which he noticed matched Mack's. They were wearing their basketball jerseys, their away jerseys, the red ones. A figure pulled him away and sat him down in a chair. He looked up into the face of Cam.

"Adam," he said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Seeing Cam just made the boy's tears fall faster down his face. With his vision blurry, a song hit his ears – View from Heaven by Yellowcard. Calum always said he wanted this played when he died.

That just made Adam sob more. He felt like an idiot. He was crying and Cam wasn't. "Adam let it all out," Cam instructed.

"I miss him," Adam said. "He was my best friend."

"I know."

"What am I going to do without him?"

Cam brought him into a hug and patted his back. "I don't know Adam. I don't think anyone knows. It's going to be different without him."

"Too different."

Across the room, Troy was talking to a person who claimed to know his sister. He smiled and nodded, but didn't listen to a word they said. His mind was focused on the letter his mother had found under Mack's bed.

_Dear Whom Ever Opens This,_

_My name is Mackenzie Bolton and I'm a senior at East High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'm writing this because I just found a letter my brother wrote. It was a 'just in case I die' letter._

_So, just in case, I'm writing one too._

_If I die, I want to be buried in my jersey, the red one because I'll always be a visitor in the plot I'm buried in. I want my senior picture to be the picture everyone sees when they walk in because that's the best picture I've ever taken._

_I don't care what music plays. Let Calum pick, he knows what I like. Or Troy, he would pick some good songs too._

_And If I die, I want an open casket funeral. No matter how ugly, gross or whatever I look like. That's what I want. I don't know why but having the casket shut longer than it needs to be, is giving me the creeps just thinking about it._

_Also, I don't want to be kept alive on machines. I'm not really alive that way. And if I'm unable to make my own decisions, or if I'm a 'vegetable' no matter if there's a chance I could get better, kill me._

_Oh, and if I do die...don't cry forever. I don't want to take away from everyone else's lives. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean you can't have fun._

_Sincerely,_

_Mackenzie Lorraine Bolton_

**So...**

**Next chapter is the epilogue. This series had a good run and I'm glad everyone liked it. I'll be asking for advice for future stories in the epilogue, so keep a watch out.**

**Tell me what you think!**

**Review.**


	20. Epilogue

**Well, this is it...it's based on Troy, so I know so me of you who thought Troy had a minimal part in last chapter will be happy.**

**Chapter 20 – Epilogue **

Troy fingered the name of the tombstone in front of him. Fifteen years. Fifteen long years since he lost his little sister. A lot had happened in fifteen years.

For one, he got married.

The day had been beautiful. Amazing. The only thing missing was his little sister. Chad was best man with Taylor as the maid-of-honor. But, deep down, it had only reminded him of what Mack would never be able to do.

Like graduate.

Mack and Calum's red and white graduation robes were placed on their chairs during the ceremony. Jack accepted Mack's diploma and Karen was given Calum's. Bailey had cried the whole way through, even as she took her diploma from Mr. Matsui's hands, her body shook with sobs.

A tear fell down Troy's face and onto the cold ground. She would have been thirty three in two days, just like she would have turned eighteen two days after the accident.

"Daddy, are you okay?"

He turned around. Standing behind him was a beautiful ten year old, his oldest child Pilar Mackenzie Bolton. She looked exactly like Mack, from her hair to her smirk. Her attitude was the same as well, basketball was life.

"Yeah," Troy said lifting himself up off the ground. "I'm okay."

Pilar took a lollipop out of her pocket, unwrapped it and stuck it into the dirt surrounding Mack's grave. "Just in case she gets hungry," she told her father matter-of-factly before she walked to the grave next to Mack's. "This is Cam's brother right?"

"Yeah," Troy told her. "Had they lived, he probably would have been your uncle."

"How did they die again," the little girl asked.

"A drunk driver hit them one night."

"Oh," Pilar said quickly. She knew her father hated drunk drivers, but she had never asked why. "That's why you make Mom help out when MADD comes to school."

"I don't make your mother," Troy said. "She likes to help and Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a good program."

There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment. "What was Aunt Mack like?"

"I've told you millions of times," Troy said.

"No you haven't," Pilar said. "You rarely talk about her. Mom said that when she first met you, you were...different than you are now."

Troy looked up at his daughter and she studied him carefully. His hair was still shaggy and his face still tan, but his eyes were dull. The bright blue that had once occupied them were gone and replaced with common gray. He never smiled, and when he did it was fake.

He sighed. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Anything."

"Okay," he said. "Well, she was an awesome athlete and she had a beautiful voice..."

"_Troy?"_

"_Yeah Mack," he said as they walked down the street, ice cream running out of the cone in their hands and onto their skin._

"_How did you propose to Gabriella?"_

"_Oh...it wasn't fancy. I brought her to a nice restaurant and asked her."_

_She shook her head. "You are so lame!"_

"_I'm lame," he asked._

"_Yeah! You could have made it exciting."_

"_Like how?"_

"_I'm going sky diving and right before we jump, Calum's going to present me with this huge diamond."_

_Troy laughed. "And where is Calum getting all this money?"_

"_Teagan."_

"_Oh right," Troy said as if it was obvious. "You want to be in debt to Teagan when you get married."_

_Mack laughed and threw her ice cream cone in the trash. Troy lazily tried, but it miss. "Oh, I think you're losing your touch big brother," she teased. "You might need a lesson or two from the all powerful Mack."_

Troy looked up at the stars and shook his head. Gabriella came out and sat in the chair next to his. "I don't get it," he said. "It seems like it was just yesterday, but it's been fifteen years. I though it was supposed to get easier as time went by."

"Troy, you were really close to your sister," Gabriella told him. "It's going to take a lot of time. Plus, you're not good with putting things behind you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You can't let things go." Troy just shook his head. "You know I'm right. I'm always right Troy."

"Well aren't you modest," he teased.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Well Mr. Basketball, how are you going to get over this?"

"I don't want to forget her-"

"You don't have to," she said. "You'll see her again someday." She kissed his cheek before going back in the house. Troy was about to follow when he heard noises from the bushes. He looked over and he could have sworn he saw two eighteen year olds – a boy and a girl – trying to be as still as could be.

"Nah," he said and he walked in the house.

**So...I feel sad writing this...I'm going to miss them!**

**Okay...Read this author's note, all of it because these are some ideas I have!**

**Now. I know I'm writing some more stories, but I have a few ideas I've already started (**_Title_**, _summary_, "**excerpt"

_Disappearing Act_

_**Troy disappears and goes missing. Assuming the worst the gang grieves their lost friend. But when he comes back to Albuquerque with a new name, a new personality and a new life, will they be able to remind him of the old Troy Bolton.**_

"There was something fishy about Topher Harrington and Ryan was going to get to the bottom of it."

_Gabriella's Gift_

_**Gabriella has a gift. She can see the spirit of death. When she sees it following Troy, she only has a few days to figure out how he's going to die and stop it from happening...but what if the "einsteinette" can't figure it out? **_

"But, you see, I need to tell my friends what I can see because right now we have a major problem that I need to solve. I might even need their help. The other day I saw the black ghost - the spirit of death - following one of them."

_Those Four Words_

_**The friendship between four boys is tested when one of them is diagnosed with a deadly disease. **_

"'Look,' he said, letting go of Sharpay and walking across the room. At first, they hadn't seen the big deal, but with each step they noticed he was getting slower until they looked at his legs. One was limping, his knee barely moving as he tried to walk across the room."

(Those Four Words isn't about the medical aspect of it because I've never really had that happen, but I have been a friend, so I know how it can feel like in the situation, of course everyone can have different feelings and reactions.)

**Also, if enough people want me too, I'll post some one-shots together based off of Troy and Mack and this series, because I still have some ideas for them and I know some people want to see more of Troy and Mack's childhood.**

**So, I'm going to post them all at one point hopefully. But, if you like one of them more than the others, tell me and which ever one get the most I'll post first.**

**So anyway, I just wanted to throw some ideas out there for you all!**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Review and tell me what you think!**


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